New Louisiana waterway cleanup initiative aims to start in September

Love Our Waterways, a new statewide waterway and shoreline cleanup initiative, will take place throughout Louisiana in September.

Under the auspices of Keep Louisiana Beautiful and Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, the program will involve volunteers, businesses, schools, civic organizations, and community groups in removing litter and debris from Louisiana’s rivers, lakes, bayous, beaches, and shorelines.

World Cleanup Day will take place on Sept. 20, with September globally recognized as Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Month. Love Our Waterways will serve as a registered effort supporting both initiatives.

Registration is now open at LoveLaWaterways.org. Volunteers can register for a cleanup event or find opportunities to participate. Participants can clean shorelines, clean out drains and ditches, clean by paddle or motorized boat, promote on social media, and/or donate to amplify the impact. Keep Louisiana Beautiful will provide supply boxes for the first 200 groups to register.

Volunteers will also help collect important litter data by documenting the types of debris removed and identifying larger abandoned items, including derelict crab traps, abandoned vessels, and other marine debris. This information will be shared with partner agencies to support future removal efforts.