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Date: 10/4/2023
AGAWAM — The Connecticut River Conservancy’s annual Source to Sea Cleanup was in September, but there’s still time to pitch in locally.
The Westfield River Watershed Association will host its annual fall cleanup on Oct. 14, pulling trash from the shores of the river in Agawam and West Springfield.
“With the Big E going on, [Sept. 22-23] really didn’t work for us,” said Ann Barone, the second vice president of the WRWA.
Barone said volunteers should gather at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 14, rain or shine, at the Pynchon Point parking lot on River Road near the South End Bridge in Agawam.
The WRWA will hand out gloves, trash bags, and offer safety tips before sending the volunteer groups to targeted areas along the river in the two towns, Barone said, adding that volunteers should expect to spend between three and four hours scouring for trash.
She said those who volunteer will see all the debris that is swept into the river, usually as stormwater. And, she said, with all the rain the area has gotten this summer there might be more trash along the banks of the river.
“A couple of years ago we pulled nearly 100 tires out, but we’ve seen mattresses, furniture, and nip bottles,” Barone said. “The nip bottles are just horrendous these days.”
While made from plastic, it’s not widely known that nip bottles should not be thrown into recycling bins. The reason is simple: they are too small. When taken to recycling facilities, the bottles fall out of the sorting machinery and ultimately end up in a landfill.
“If we could get rid of those nips, cleanups would go even more quickly,” said Sheryl Becker, one of the WRWA’s cleanup coordinators.
Barone said water bottles used to be the problem plastics.
“We don’t see those as much as we used to. People have gotten good about those,” Barone said.
Becker explained the importance of keeping trash and pollution out of the river, which flows into the Connecticut River and eventually into Long Island Sound.
“It has a tremendous economic value, ecological value, and recreational value,” said Diane Chaplin, the director of communications for the Connecticut River Conservancy.
“Our watersheds are critical resources that must be protected and preserved, so we give certain areas along the banks a good cleaning two to three times a year … if we don’t keep it clean, no one else will,” Becker said.
The nonprofit group was founded in 1953 to protect and improve the natural resources of the watershed, as well as expand recreational and other land use opportunities for people’s enjoyment and for sound ecology.
“The Westfield River is a lot cleaner than it used to be, largely thanks to our volunteers,” said Mark Damon, the president of the WRWA.
For questions about the cleanup, call Becker at 413-374-1921. To learn more, visit www.westfieldriver.org and www.ctriver.org/our-work/source-to-sea-cleanup.