Rillito River · River Road · Tucson, Arizona

Clean the Rillito

A field of dumped furniture, wooden drawers and boxes, tarps, clothing and scattered trash spread across the sandy bank of the wash, with mesquite and the Catalinas beyond.

I understand that every time it rains in Tucson, new trash is going to appear in the wash. But the honest truth is, I hate looking at it when I ride by.

I'm just a disabled vet who has time on his hands to go out there and do this a few times a week. I'm not a non-profit. I don't go out there to clean once a year, I don't need volunteers and I don't post on social media about things I've done or want to do.

This site is simple: I go out there and haul trash out of the wash. You'll find actual pictures of what it looks like out there, and a few of the things I've pulled out.

Here's the gist

The wash is like a hoarder

You tend to stare, but most of the time it's ignored.

When it rains, it cries and accumulates more items.

It doesn't want to live this way. It knows it has to change, but it needs a little help.

Here's what I see

Can you find the cart?

These photos were taken along the River Road bike path. Nothing staged, nothing borrowed — every photo here is a spot I've ridden.

An overturned shopping cart on a sandbar in the middle of the flooded wash, with brush and muddy water around it.
A shopping cart half-sunk in mud in the middle of the braided channel, with the Catalina foothills behind.
The paved bike path running along the top of the bank, with muddy water filling the channel below at dusk.
The sandy channel under the River Road bridge, scattered with rocks and debris.
A wide dry stretch of the wash with a red object dumped in the middle distance and the mountains beyond.
Shallow water braiding across the sand, with small pieces of trash visible on the far bar.
The dry wash bed with tamarisk clumps and houses along the far bank.
The view from the bike path railing across the wet channel toward the foothills.
Concrete columns under the bridge, with sand berms and standing water in the shade.
This one is a bit tricky, so I'll give you a clue: you can barely see it, but it's on the right side before the rise.

ways to kelp

Here's how you can help

Chip in

Send what you want

Contributions go through PayPal. You don't need a PayPal account — a card works fine.

Before and after

What I've hauled out

I'll add photos of what I took out, no worries, proper disposal entities were informed.

Trash along the wash before cleanup
Before
The same spot cleared of trash
After

Where it was, and roughly when.