For the third year in a row, American Place Casino is teaming up with the City of Waukegan for Earth Month with a Lake Michigan cleanup at the Waukegan Municipal Beach on April 25, 2026, from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM.
The Waukegan Municipal Beach is open year-round for boaters, sunbathers, volleyball players, kiteboarders, picnickers, swimmers, and much more. With over 400 acres of lakefront and a mile-long beach, it’s the perfect destination for community gatherings. Visitors can experience anything from morning yoga classes to beachfront weddings. There is something for everyone, whether you’re looking for solitude or excitement.
With lots of visitors comes lots of trash, and the American Place Cares team looks forward to helping keep the beach clean. The City of Waukegan does a tremendous job maintaining and keeping the beach clean year-round, and APC is happy to play a small role in supporting those ongoing efforts. Between 2024 and 2025 efforts, American Place Casino had over 50 team members and their families come out to volunteer at the beach.
In 2025, team members contributed 70 combined hours of volunteering focused on cleaning up the beach. Items recovered in the family swimming areas included tires, foil balloons, chip bags, tobacco products, and many bottle caps. Removing these items created a safer environment for families and tourists to enjoy the beach.
“Growing up, I remember we often traveled to other water parks or beaches because our local beach had a reputation for being unpleasant and covered in trash, specifically glass,” said Ivan Ramirez, Community Engagement Manager at American Place Casino. “Today, I am proud to say that we have one of the cleanest and safest beach fronts around. This transformation did not happen overnight, but the long-term commitment to cleaning the beach has made a significant impact. I am proud to work for a company that encourages us to participate in cleaning the community to which we belong.”
Participating in beach cleanups helps remove dangerous items and microplastics from not just a major tourism destination in Lake County, but also from the local drinking water. Over 170 municipalities in Illinois receive their drinking water from Lake Michigan supplying nearly 6.6 million people with public drinking water, with the City of Waukegan being one of the intake locations.
APC volunteers are proud to be a part of something that benefits not only beach visitors, but also the homes and businesses throughout the community. The team is excited to not just assist with cleaning up the beach in 2026 but also working with other organizations throughout the spring on projects such as garden cleanups and planting trees with the park district for Arbor Day.
To learn more about American Place cares, visit our website at https://americanplace.com/american-place-cares/.
