Anheuser-Busch Joins Forces With Living Lands & Waters, City and Community Organizations for Annual St. Louis Riverfront Cleanup
(THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED DUE TO HIGH WATER LEVELS ON THE MISSSISSIPPI.) More than 1,400 trash bags filled with approximately 12 tons of trash, more than 200 old tires and perhaps even an abandoned car – it will be trash to treasure along the St. Louis riverfront near the Gateway Arch on Sept. 20.
For the sixth consecutive year, Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) will join forces with Anheuser-Busch to help clean up and beautify the banks of the Mississippi River. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., more than 300 Anheuser-Busch employees and family members will volunteer their time to pick up litter along the St. Louis riverfront and plant native shrubs and spread mulch along the riverfront trail and the Jefferson Memorial Arch grounds. Many other local organizations will join Anheuser-Busch and LL&W, including the City of St. Louis, National Park Service, Operation Brightside, Missouri River Relief, Trailnet, Open Space Council, Downtown St. Louis Partnership, Grace Hill and Missouri Stream Team. In addition, many other companies and organizations have contributed resources to this effort, including local Anheuser-Busch wholesalers Grey Eagle Distributing, Krey Distributing, Lohr Distributing, H.W. Herrell Distributing; BJC Health Center; Wise Safety & Environmental and 106.5 The Arch.
“The St. Louis riverfront cleanup is one of our biggest events every year and one that the team and I eagerly anticipate,” said Chad Pregracke, LL&W founder. “Anheuser-Busch has been one of our longtime national sponsors and their support has been a big part of Living Lands & Waters’ success.”
The event will kick off at the cobblestones by the riverfront with a welcome by St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay. “We are pleased to welcome Living Lands & Waters back to St. Louis and are grateful for their continuing work with local groups and the employees of Anheuser-Busch to clean up the St. Louis riverfront and help beautify the area,” said Mayor Slay. “The riverfront and Mississippi River are internationally recognized icons for the City of St. Louis, and it is through the generous efforts of the volunteers, companies and organizations that we are able to help protect these valuable resources.”
LL&W crew will take volunteers by boat to different spots along the river to clean the shoreline. All of the litter collected from the cleanup will be placed on LL&W’s barge to be later separated and recycled or taken to a landfill.
“Protecting the environment and giving back to the communities where we live and work has been a part of Anheuser-Busch’s tradition for more than 150 years,” said Carol Clark, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility for Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “We are proud to work with Chad and his team, cities across the country, and community partners to help clean up our nation’s rivers, especially the Mississippi River right here in our hometown.”
LL&W, founded by Chad Pregracke in 1998 as a one-man operation, is headquartered in East Moline, Ill. Today, he and his crew of six work full-time on their house-barge cleaning the Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Anacostia and Potomac rivers. In addition, LL&W plants trees to stabilize shorelines, runs the Adopt-A-River Mile program, and conducts workshops that educate people about the importance of keeping the river system clean. Pregracke has been honored by First Lady Laura Bush and profiled in mainstream media, including CNN, NBC Nightly News, People, Reader’s Digest and Time. For more information regarding LL&W and its ongoing projects, visit www.livinglandsandwaters.org.
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27 percent share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country’s best-selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 overall and No. 1 in social responsibility among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2008. Anheuser-Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans. For more information, visit www.OurPledge.com.