For over 16 years, the annual White River Clean-Up has been responsible for removing an estimated 150,000 lbs (75 tons) and almost a thousand tires from the White River. With almost 5,000 volunteers cleaning 135 river miles, it’s the largest single-day volunteer event in Delaware County. The White River Clean-Up stretches from the Old Indiana Steel and Wire Plant all the way to Canoe Country in Daleville.

The White River Clean-Up happens each September and is part of the White River Festival, a statewide public service stretching along a majority of the White River. Many counties—including Delaware, Hamilton, Monroe, Madison, and Morgan Counties—participate in cleaning up the White River on or near the same date. People come together from all communities to help clean the White River, and thousands of pounds of trash are removed every year, including large amounts of tires.

Volunteers walk the bank, river, and land where possible, removing debris from and around the river. When that is not possible, volunteers use canoes to navigate through the water, filling them up along the way with the debris they find.

The White River Clean-Up is hosted by Muncie–Delaware Clean & Beautiful and Muncie Sanitary District/Stormwater Management Department, along with other sponsors: FlatLand Resources, Indiana American Water, EMCOMM ECI, Minnetrista, Muncie Parks Department, MITS, the Town of Yorktown, Ball State University, Clearwater Car Wash, and the Upper White River Watershed Partnership.