SAXTONS RIVER — The 410-mile long Connecticut River and nearby tributaries are now cleaner of trash thanks to the hard work of over 2,200 dedicated residents and Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers.
On Oct. 4 and 5, the volunteers from businesses, faith communities, watershed groups, schools, and youth organizations grabbed trash bags and work gloves for the 17th annual Source to Sea Cleanup, organized by the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC).
This year, 124 cleanup groups participated in all four states of the watershed from North Stratford, N.H., near the Canadian border all the way down to the mouth of the river in Old Saybrook, Conn.
“While removing trash is important, the Source to Sea Cleanup is about more than that,” says Cleanup coordinator Jacqueline Talbot. “The Cleanup is about strengthening community and allowing people to take meaningful action to improve their neighborhoods. When people help clean their rivers, they make connections with each other and their rivers.”
It is estimated that volunteers hauled more than 45 tons of trash from more than 130 miles of rivers and streambanks, with over 50 percent of groups recycling what they could.
Interesting items pulled from the river this year include a large 'Dam Ahead' warning sign, found just below the Turners Falls Dam by Deerfield Academy students.
More than 8,400 plastic bottles were reported to be pulled from rivers, along with no less than 24 shopping carts. At least 464 tires, a full truck bed, four batteries, and more than 40 cans of motor oil were also found and removed.
Lane Construction Corporation, a lead sponsor of the Cleanup, donated equipment and staff to remove large debris from along the Green River in Massachusetts and Vermont, including the metal remains of an old pedestrian bridge