Friends of the Shiawassee River's Annual River Cleanup Event 

July 18-25, 2026

2026 Annual River Cleanup Registration

Last year’s Shiawassee River Cleanup united more than 225 volunteers from Byron to Chesaning, all stepping up to care for the river we share. With 174 registrations in 2025, the growing momentum continues to show what’s possible when people come together for clean water and healthy communities. We look forward to sharing your story as you gather friends, coworkers, teams, and local groups to make an impact during this year’s cleanup.

About the event:

This week long volunteer event spans more than 60 miles of the Shiawassee River. Coordinating with public and private partners, the Friends of the Shiawassee River brings volunteers from across the watershed together with one purpose, to clean up the Shiawassee River. Historically items such as tires, refuse, metal , and more are removed and deposited into one of two dumpsters provided by Waste Management for the event. There is one event dumpster located in Owosso, MI and another in Chesaning, MI. 

Volunteers can select their own section of the river (behind their home or park) or we can assign one to them. This ensures the greatest impact across the watershed.  If you would like to join us, register today!  The first 200 volunteers to register will receive a free t-shirt! If you are unable to volunteer but would still like to contribute to our mission to Care, Share, and Enjoy the Shiawassee River click here to donate. 

We also partner with the Shiawassee Health Department and Saginaw County Abatement provide a Tire Collection, open to the public, in which you can drop off your tires to be recycled at a discounted rate. All tires pulled from the river will be recycled for free and we will give you information on how to do that after you have registered.