Annual Neponset River Cleanup produces big results
By Canton Citizen
Volunteers remove debris from the Neponset River during the recent cleanup event. (Photo courtesy of NepRWA)
The Neponset River is a lot cleaner thanks to the volunteers and sponsors who supported the river cleanup on September 26 as part of the Neponset River Watershed Association’s Annual Fall Cleanup.
More than 300 people gathered at 12 different locations along the Neponset River in Canton, Milton, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Quincy. In just over two hours, volunteers managed to fill eight large dumpsters and collect a total of 12 tons of trash.
The debris collected included 88 car tires, nine shopping carts, four dump truck loads of furniture removed from the Greenlodge Street trail in Canton (mattresses, microwave, sofa, arm chairs, BBQ grill, animal trap, and construction debris), 252 bags of trash filled with single-use plastic and glass bottles, nip bottles, papers, and assorted bits of trash, one car battery, traffic cones, foam insulation, metal pipes, poles, hub caps, a car bumper, bike, ceramic toilet, office chair, a bag of potatoes, clothes, masks, flip flops, fishing line, a dock, ladder, and a suitcase.
NepRWA Environmental Science Fellow and event coordinator Declan Devine was pleased with the results. “We were really excited to see so many members of our community out taking care of the river, and happy that we could do it safely during COVID,” he said. “It is wonderful to see neighbors working side by side for a common cause. Besides being good for the river, it strengthens community connections and transforms residents into stewards of their environment.”
A cleanup of this magnitude takes a lot of people-power and a great deal of thanks goes to the many volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning to lend a hand, with special thanks to the Edgewater Neighborhood Association, Belnel Neighborhood Association, Fuss & O’Neill, Keep Hyde Park Beautiful, Trust for Public Land, Impacto TRG (Takedo Resource Group), Quincycles, Engineers without Borders, WIT American Society of Civil Engineers, Civil and Environmental Consultants Inc., Arbor Biotechnologies, Friends of the Boston Harbor Walk, Town of Milton, and Milton Cub Scouts.
In addition, the cleanup would not be possible without the logistical support from MassDCR and the town of Milton for providing tools and trash removal; PaddleBoston for providing multiple canoes, paddles and vests; the Norfolk County Mosquito Control for disposal of tires; and the James G. Grant Company for providing the all-important dumpsters.
Finally, a big thank you goes to the cleanup sponsors: ENE Systems, Paddle Boston, GZA Environmental, Budget Dumpster, Rockland Trust, South Shore Bank, Roche Bros., Shaw’s, and the Fruit Center Marketplace.
Photos of the Neponset River Cleanup can be found on the NepRWA Facebook page.
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Posted by Canton Citizen
on Oct 16 2020. Filed under News.
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