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 Looking for a Few Good Sponsors!

We’re gearing up for 2008 and we are looking for a few good sponsors! Have you ever wanted to be a Trash Terminator or Rubbish Renegade? Now is your chance! To learn how you can support New England’s largest river cleanup...click here.

 

50 tons of trash pulled in during 2007 River Cleanup
sugar river

Results are in for our 11th annual Source to Sea Cleanup held on September 29, 2007.  We’re happy to report that again we had our highest turnout ever.  This year’s cleanup, sponsored by New England Family Farms Milk, was held in 60 locations from Pittsburg, NH to Old Saybrook, CT and involved a record 2,016 volunteers.  More than 50 tons of trash was hauled out of the Connecticut River and its tributaries, including 594 illegally dumped tires. Download a PDF of the Cleanup Chronicle 2007 for full detail.

We were lucky to have great weather, and though there was a drought in the preceding months, it allowed access to riverbank areas that are normally under water.  Volunteers displayed great enthusiasm and creativity in figuring out ways to get to trash.

canoe mattressesParticipating groups chose one or more sites along the Connecticut or their favorite water body to clean.  CRWC provided supplies, organizing ties, and support.  As they do each year, volunteers found thousands of fast food containers, bottles, cans, cups, and plastic bags.  But some groups reported finding less trash than last year, which is good news.  “One of our goals is to reduce litter and dumped trash in and along our rivers,” says Mass. River Steward Andrea Donlon, the event’s organizer.  Some groups also made a concerted effort to recycle beverage containers and scrap metal.  This year’s oddball Cleanup assortment included a bread machine, parking meter, snowmobile, hot water heater, and a stash of vacuum cleaners.  A full trash tally is shown below.

Join us for our 12th annual Cleanup - October 4, 2008

Enter our Cleanup Design Contest!

tireWANTED:  Creative people of any age to submit an 8x11 inch drawing or design with a river cleanup theme.  Winning image(s) will be used to create the 2008 Cleanup t-shirts, poster, and/or other promotional material at the discretion of CRWC.  Send original artwork to Andrea Donlon at CRWC, 15 Bank Row, Greenfield MA 01301.  If you make a computer-generated image, you can email it to cleanup@ctriver.org. Original artwork will not be returned to the owner, so please keep your own copy.  DEADLINE: June 13, 2008. Questions?  Call Andrea at 413-772-2020 x. 205.
 

webeloesTrash Tally 2007

Our groups reported filling 1,465 trash bags with the garbage they collected.  Bulky items were often hauled away in pickup trucks and dumpsters.  Here is an itemized list of the items found by groups.  Actual numbers are higher because many groups did not count or report specific trash items.
 

Item

Quantity*

Item

Quantity*

cans & bottles

>>5,969+ 64 bags + 2 bushels

guns/bb guns/water guns

13

cups, caps, wrappers

>>2,469+2 bags

car batteries

12

tires

>594.5

shotgun shells

11

empty bags

343

carpets, rugs

11

styrofoam

>>333

baby stroller, crib

11

clothing

194 + 70 lbs + 3 bags

bags of leaves

10

scrap metal

195 + 35 bags + 11,260 lbs

camping gear

10

demolition, bldg mat.

>>127 + 2 tons

boat parts, boats

9

fishing gear & bait cont.

>235

dishes, kitchen items

9

asphalt shingles

166

propane cylinders

8

illegally dumped trash bags

152

desk/table

7

cars, car parts

112 + hundreds of brake parts + pile of bumpers

CDs/DVDs

6

newspapers, paper

65 + 30 lbs+ 2 bales + 40 bags

toilet/urinal

6

diapers

94 + 4 bags

hoses/tubing/piping

5 + 50 ft

shoes

88

AC

4

sporting equip., balls

69

alkaline batteries

4

wood, lumber

>65

blanket, pillows

4

shopping carts

63

rope, cord

>4

misc. plastic

59

signs

4

appliances (fridge, stoves)

56

sink

3

barrels

>51.5

BBQ grills

3

bicycles

>50.5

water heater

3

toys

50

6-pack holders

2

cigarette lighter

44

lawnmowers

2

lawn furniture

44

cooler

2

automotive products

34

bathtub

2

paint can, spray paint

33

misc. furniture

2

chair/couch

30

knives, machetes

2

beds/mattresses

29

syringe

>1

TV, VCR

29

snowmobile

1

buoys, injection foam

22

scooter

1

anything with a cord

20

swimming, wading pool

1

vacuum cleaners

19

car seat

1

used motor oil

>18

porta-potty

1

electronics

18

luggage

1

5-gallon plastic pails

17

silt fence

1

tarp

14

dead animal in plastic

1
* Actual numbers are higher.  Some groups did not itemize or count.
 
 

Sponsors 2007neff logo

CRWC would like to thank the numerous businesses and communities that donated the money, supplies, equipment, food, and volunteer labor to CRWC and local groups to make this Cleanup a big success. In particular, we’d like to recognize event sponsor New England Family Farms milk for their financial support, as well as CDM, the Metropolitan mdc logoDistrict Commission, Greenfield Savings Bank, NRG Middletown Operations, the Brattleboro Reformer, and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Most trash bags were donated by National River Cleanup-American Rivers. Reformer logoA full list of our sponsors is shown in the table below.
NRG logocdm logoVT ANR logoGSB logo
 

Beck & Eldergill, P.C.

Lea, Carola

Belchertown Conservation Commission

Metropolitan District Commission

Brattleboro Reformer

Murtha Cullina LLP

Brown And Roberts Hardware

National River Cleanup Week

C & S Wholesale Grocers

New England Family Farms

CDM

NRG Middletown Operations

Chester Marina

Public Service Of New Hampshire

Claremont Savings Bank

SoVerNet

Coca-Cola North America

State of Vermont

Concept2 Rowing

Three County Fair

Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation

Tighe & Bond, Inc.

Connecticut Light & Power Co.

Town of East Windsor

CopyCat Print Shop

TransCanada Hydro Northeast Inc.

Dartmouth Printing Company

Vermont Guardian

Fuss & O'Neill, Inc.

Wal-Mart

Greenfield Savings Bank

West River Marina

Hallmark Cards, Inc.

Western Massachusetts Electric Co.

Hays, William

Westfield River Watershed Council

Kroka Expeditions, Inc.

Windham Solid Waste Management
 
 
Participating Groups 2007
Longmeadow Group
 

Cleanup Town

Group Name

Cleanup River

Number of Volunteers

Connecticut

 

 

 

Enfield

Scantic River Watershed Association

Connecticut and Scantic Rivers

51

Essex

CT River Museum & RiverQuest

CT River, Essex Harbor, Nott Island

9

Glastonbury

Glastonbury High School Interact Club

Connecticut River

25

Glastonbury

Glastonbury High School Environmental Club

Connecticut River

13

Hartford

Trinity College Green Campus

South Park River

10

Hartford & West Hartford

Park River Watershed Revitalization Initiative

Park River

28

Manchester

Central CT Cachers

Hockanum River

21

Manchester

Hockanum River Watershed Association

Union Pond, Hockanum River

20

Middletown

Friends of the River

Mattabasset River/Wilcox Island

6

Middletown

Middletown Republicans

Connecticut River

15

Middletown

NRG Energy

Connecticut River/Dart Island

35

Middletown, Veteran's Park

CT River Coastal Conservation District

Coginchaug River

26

Old Lyme

[no group name]

Black Hall, Lieutenant, CT River

2

Old Saybrook @ Turtle Creek Wildlife Sanctuary

Save the Sound, The Nature Conservancy, Old Saybrook Land Trust

Connecticut River

26

Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill High School Lend-a-Paw

Connecticut River at CT  Ferry Park and surroundings

11

Suffield & Windsor Locks

Friends of the Canal, Boy Scout Troop 260, Boy Scout Troop 66, Condominium residents

Connecticut River

31

Various along the Farmington

Farmington River Watershed Association

Farmington River and tribs

300

Wethersfield

Metropolitan District Commission

Wethersfield Cove

36

Windsor

Town of Windsor

Connecticut River

15

Windsor Locks

Windsor Locks Conservation Commission

Connecticut River and canal

46

Massachusetts

 

 

Agawam, Bondis Island

United Water

Connecticut/Westfield River confluence

9

Agawam, Pynchon Pt

Westfield River Watershed Association

confluence of Westfield and CT Rivers

15

Amherst

Junior Girl Scout Troop 88

Fort River

11

Charlemont, Shelburne Falls

Academy at Charlemont

Deerfield River

10

Chicopee

Chicopee Conservation Commission

Connecticut River

see Holyoke
numbers

Deerfield

Phi Sigma Kappa of UMass.

Deerfield River

9

Deerfield

UU Society of Amherst

Connecticut River

15

Deerfield

Girl Scout Troop 242

Deerfield River near Deerfield Academy

6

Easthampton

Trial Court Community Service Program

Lower Mill Pond, Oxbow near Rte 5

20

Greenfield, Leyden

Green River Watershed Alliance/DRWA, WRSI Green Team, Franklin County Sherrif's Office, Eaglebrook School, cub scouts

Green River

225

Hadley

Amherst High School Environmental Action Club

Connecticut River at Mitch’s Marina

9

Hadley

Coca Cola

Connecticut River at Mitch’s Marina

18

Hadley/ Northampton

UMASS Women's Rowing, MA DCR Universal Access program, Holyoke Rows

Connecticut River

20

Hatfield

Cub Scout Pack 104

Connecticut River at Public Boat Ramp, Bashin Swim Area, Nook

18

Hawley

Pat & Tex LaMountain

Chickley River

3

Holyoke

Holyoke Friends of the River with Pioneer Valley Divers, Appalachian Mountain Club, and AOS/United Water

Connecticut River

70

Longmeadow, Agawam, Springfield

Pioneer Valley Yacht Club & Rowers, Longmeadow High School, Springfield Yacht Club

Connecticut River

50

Northampton

Ward 3 Neighborhood Association

Connecticut River, Meadows area

14

Northfield

Greater Northfield Watershed Association, Lane Construction, Pioneer Valley Regional HS global science class

Connecticut River, Mill Brook, Bennett Brook

36

South Hadley

South Hadley High School Environmental Club

Connecticut River

27

South Hadley

Mount Holyoke College Crew Team

Connecticut River near Brunelle's Marina

50

Sunderland to Northampton

Bill Whitmore and friend

CT River

2

Templeton

Otter River Stream Team

Trout Brook

14

Turners Falls, Northfield, Gill, Montague

FirstLight Power Resources' Northfield Mountain, Great Falls Discovery Center, Franklin County Solid Waste Management District, Franklin County Technical School, Northfield Mount Hermon School Outdoor Team, Northfield Elementary School Sixth Grade, Gill Elementary School Second Grade, Junior Girl Scout Troop 328, Conway Junior Girl Scout Troop, Trial Court Community Service Program-Franklin Division, Western MA Electric Company

Connecticut River

287

Various along Westfield River

Westfield River Watershed Association

Westfield River

46

Hanover to Lyme

[no group name]

Connecticut River

2

New Hampshire

 

 

Keene

Cheshire County Conservation District, Ashuelot River Local Advisory Committee, Moosewood Ecological, Trout Unlimited, Keene State College, City of Keene, Keene High School, Monadnock Regional High School, Franklin Pierce College, Starbucks Coffee Company

Ashuelot River

150

Lyme

Gray's Garbage Scow

Connecticut River

1

Lyme

Lyme School

Grant Brook & CT River

5

Lyme

Upper CT River Boat Club

CT River & Clay Brook

7

Pittsburg

Pittsburg NH Cub Scout Pack 231

CT River at the source -- lakes plus tribs

18

West Chesterfield and region

Family group

Connecticut River

3

Vermont

 

 

 

Ascutney

Weathersfield Middle School 7th Grade

Connecticut River & Mill Brook

20

Bellows Falls

David Deen-River Steward

Connecticut River

1

Brattleboro

Laurie Callahan, Eurasian milfoil paddle & cleanup

West River at Retreat Meadows

1

Putney

Putney Energy Committee

Sackets, Chase, E. Putney Brooks

7

Saxtons River and Bellows Falls

Vermont Academy

Saxtons River

12

Springfield and Ludlow

Black River Action Team

Black River

43

St. Johnsbury

St. Johnsbury Rotary Club
Barre Rotary Club
St. Johnsbury Fire Department

Passumpsic River

13

Walpole, NH

Bellows Falls Rotary

Connecticut River

11

Waterford

The GreenNEKs

Connecticut River at Comerford Reservoir

4

Windsor VT, Claremont NH, Ascutney VT, Weathersfield Bow

Weathersfield Greenup

Connecticut River

8

 

 

TOTAL

2,016
 

Download a PDF of the Cleanup Chronicle 2007 for full detail.

chronicle
 
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Images ©2007 CRWC, with thanks to Megan Hearne, Dave Hoitt, Joan Elvers-Hoitt, Jeanne Friedman, and Jonathan Moss.

Celebrating 50 years of protecting the Connecticut River