2 of the sites are in ravines and are definitely what we call “heavy duty”. They contain items such as tires, old toilets, carpet, bikes, strollers, doors, pallets, etc. The other 2 sites are lighter duty and mostly contain general litter.

We hope to hear from you!

1. It’s a free event, so you’ll save some green. Bring the whole family. There’s lots of fun activities that can keep you entertained for hours.

2. The first 500 adults through the door receive a free recycled plastic coffee mug. The mug is green in more ways than one! (1) It’s green…literally. (2). It’s Made in the USA. (3) It’s made from post-consumer plastics. (4) It’s free!

3. The first 50 attendees at each Green Lifestyle Workshop receive a green giveaway and are entered in a drawing to win a larger item valued at $50.

11:00 am: “Backyard Composting 101: Transform Trash into Treasure.” Free compost pail made of recycled plastic to the first 50. All attendees are entered to win a backyard compost bin.

12:30 pm: “Raise Your Baby the ‘Green’ Way! A Workshop for Moms and Dads of Wee Ones.” Free infant cloth diaper to the first 50 from Greenbottoms. All attendees are entered into a drawing for a basket of healthy, eco-friendly, baby-licious stuff!

2:00 pm: “The Carbon Footprint of a Cheeseburger: How to Green your Dinner Plate with Local Foods.”  Free local beef stick from Sawyer Beef and a bag of local, organic popcorn from Oak Hill Acres Organic Farm to the first 50. All attendees are entered to win a Buy Fresh Buy Local shopping bag filled with local food items and a gift certificate to the farmers market.

4. Get “green” education. More than 60 booths from environmental organizations, businesses, groups and local governments will be on display. Hands-on activities, crafts, games, demonstrations, literature and environmental professionals. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts can work toward several environmental badges.

Find out more at www.qcearthweek.org.

Saturday, April 17: Great American Cleanup in Moline
Volunteer organizations, neighborhood associations and residents are invited to get outdoors and do their part to make Moline clean and beautiful.

The clean-up event focuses on common areas shared by residents throughout Moline. Specifically, the areas cleaned are the rights-of-ways of city streets, drainage areas and neighborhood parks.

All residents are encouraged to pick up loose litter in their neighborhood and alley, but are not required to register. The City asks residents to add their litter bags to their regular garbage collection. Residents should note that regular pick-up limits still apply and only garbage that fits inside the cart will be collected. No special pick-ups will apply.
Sign up for this event to participate in an organized group clean-up event online at www.keepmolinebeautiful.org

Friday, April 30: 26th Annual Downtown Davenport Cleanup Day
9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Pitch In! Help anytime or all day. Volunteers receive free admission to “Go Green Night” at Modern Woodmen Park Friday, April 30. Registration is required. Contact Marcy Hyder at 563-322-1706 or mhyder@iowaQCchamber.com. For more information visit www.downtowndavenport.com.

Saturday, May 1: Join Hands Day in Moline
Join Hands Day is the only national volunteer day that specifically targets and develops relationships between young people and adults through neighborhood volunteering. Youth and adult volunteers work together on an equal basis to plan, organize and implement the day’s activities. Building relationships across generations restores confidence, trust, and respect for each other and creates a sense of community. Sign up online at www.keepmolinebeautiful.org

Saturday, May 1: Downtown Rock Island Cleanup
Keep Rock Island Beautiful will partner with The District in collecting litter to enhance the appearance of downtown Rock Island. Keep Rock Island Beautiful plans and implements programs of education and awareness of litter control and recycling activities while promoting pride in Rock Island. They support and encourage citizens, businesses and organizations to share responsibility for keeping a healthy, safe and beautiful city.  If you are interested in helping with this clean up, contact cfuller@keepribeautiful.org or call 786-1334.

Saturday, May 8: Great 2010 Garlic Mustard Challenge
Okay, so garlic mustard doesn’t really fit the definition of litter. However, garlic mustard is an invasive, noxious plant that threatens our native woodlands, natural areas & wildlife habitat. Help control it in our community by participating in the Challenge from 9 a.m. to noon! For more information visit www.extension.iastate.edu/scott.

Saturday, May 8: Bike Path Cleanup in Rock Island
To volunteer, contact Carolyn Fuller, Keep Rock Island Beautiful Executive Director at (309) 786-1334 or cfuller@keepribeautiful.org.

Saturday, May 15: Davenport Clean Sweep
Clean Sweep is a city-wide cleanup of Davenport, focusing primarily on neighborhood cleanups. The event is organized by the City of Davenport and United Neighbors. For more information and to volunteer, contact Bonnie at 322-7363 or bbeechum1@aol.com.

March & April: Living Lands & Waters needs your help
Preparing and planting trees is another great way to get outside and help our community and environment at the same time. Living Lands & Waters will be giving away 100,000 free oak seedlings in March & April as part of their MillionTrees Project! In order to give away healthy trees, they need volunteers to wrap the tree’s roots in a damp medium and place them in bags. Register to volunteer online at www.livinglandsandwaters.org or call Denise, Program Coordinator at 309-496-9848.

Saturday, March 27: Tree Planting at Nahant Marsh
You can even help plant some of the trees you helped wrap at Nahant Marsh on Saturday, March 27 from 9 a.m. – noon. For more information contact Brian Ritter at britter@eicc.edu or 563-323-5196.

Waste Commission of Scott County operates the Scott Area Landfill, Scott Area Recycling Center, Electronic Demanufacturing Facility and Household Hazardous Material Facilities. In addition, the Commission funds and houses iLivehere (that’s us). So, iLivehere is Waste Commission of Scott County’s environmental outreach program. We’re also your local Keep Iowa Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful affiliate. All we want is to help you become a better steward of our environment.

Area residents can safely dispose of old medications, exchange mercury thermometers for a digital, pick up and drop off sharps containers, and have data-sensitive documents shredded free of charge during Operation Medicine Cabinet, September 24-26, 2009.

Operation Medicine Cabinet will be held in Eldridge, Bettendorf and Davenport from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the following locations:

Thursday, September 24
Medic EMS Facility, LeClaire Road & Highway 61, Eldridge

Friday, September 25
Bettendorf Fire Station, Middle Road & Crow Creek Road, Bettendorf

Saturday, September 26
Scott Area Recycling Center, 5640 Carey Avenue, Davenport

More info at www.wastecom.com

Wild Birds Unlimited of Davenport is at 3616 Eastern Avenue. While you’re in the area, check out the Habitat ReStore, too.

Volunteers at the sixth annual Xstream Cleanup on Saturday, August 22 removed 184,271 pounds of debris from area waterways and illegal dumping sites. Cleanups were held at 45 locations in Bettendorf, Davenport, Durant and LeClaire, Iowa; Campbell’s Island, East Moline, Hampton, Milan, Moline, Rock Island and Silvis, Illinois.

1,602 volunteers worked a total of 4,852.25 hours and collectively gathered 3,998 bags of trash, 4,239 tires, 18 appliances, 31 bicycles, 28 pieces of furniture, 5 televisions and 9 mattresses. This was the equivalent of 80,180 pounds of trash, 101,736 pounds of tires, 1,350 pounds of appliances, 75 pounds of televisions, 225 pounds of mattresses and 725 pounds of bicycles for a grand total of 184,721 pounds. Amazing!!

UNIQUE ITEMS FOUND
- Typewriter
- 1936 Ford car
- Old farm plow
- Guitar face
- Stolen purses
- Human organ transporter
- Bocce ball set
- Large angel statue
- Hunting license
- Key & ignition (no car)

Find more cleanup statistics and photos at www.xstreamcleanup.org!