Weston Action Group's 2nd Annual Clean-Up Week

PLEASE JOIN US!

In honor of World Earth Day, the Sustainable Weston Action Group is coordinating  it's 2nd Annual town-wide effort to remove litter from the sides of our beautiful trails, sports fields, parks and roads.

Last year during the week of April 22nd the Weston Town clean up was a huge success with many individuals, groups and organizations participating.

Neighbors met up to walk and pick trash in the vicinity of their homes. Families banded together to use the event as a teaching moment and many reported that they were surprised by how much litter they could collect in a very short time. Some individuals even tackled long stretches of road on their own!

Groups and organizations such as the Weston Dad’s foundation, Weston Youth Lacrosse, Soccer and Baseball participated by dedicating parts of their events, games and practices to picking up litter, with enthusiastic engagement from many of the kids. In total, over 20 roads and street as well as multiple parks and sports fields were visited and left cleaner than they were found.

All five schools have participated, starting with a kick-off effort by the High School green team, down to all elementary schools where kids picked up their school yards at recess.  I did not realize how much trash there was, but now that I’m looking, I see it everywhere!” a third grader said.

Addtional information:

You are invited to participate in:
 

The Second Annual Weston Town Cleanup

April 21-27, 2019

 

What we will set out to do: 

We will pick up litter from the roadsides, trailsides, sports fields, conservation land, school yards, farm fields. We will share updates on facebook as local cleanups meet and take photos.

On April 27^th, we will show off all the results of the Town Cleanup in the form of a big map showing the areas we tackled. Come find us at the Spring Fling on the town green from 10-2!

Who is organizing this? 

This event is coordinated by the Sustainable Weston Action Group, with collaboration and support from many other town groups. Your friendly contact person is Katharina Wilkins, best reached at akatharinawilkins@gmail.com. You can also find more information on facebook if you search for Weston Town Cleanup or click https://www.facebook.com/westontowncleanup/

How to participate: 

Option 1: I just want to do this by myself, or with my friend, without a lot of fuss. 

Awesome. We think you’re great. We would love to hear before or after you (and your friend) go out. Let us know where you walked and how it went. If you are so inclined, send us a picture of yourselves (optional), your dog (optional) and the litter you found (you guessed it – also optional). 

Option 2: I want to join a group that is already going out and help. 

That’s fantastic! We will do our best to match you up with any ‘public’ group that is meeting in a neighborhood near you. We will list open cleanups on facebook, can update you via email, and hope to publish a list of opportunities in the Crier ahead of time. 

Option 3: I am feeling social and energized, I’m willing to organize a neighborhood/church/club/school cleanup.

Oh wow, you’re amazing! If you let us knowwhere you would like to clean up, we will help you with the attached flyer template that you can fill out with your particulars(date, time, location). It is often easiest to use one of your group’s regular gathering times, and just spend half an hour on a spot-clean at your location.

You can circulate the flyer with the relevant information in your own group or organization via email or paper copy. You can also send it back to us to help you advertise on facebook if you want to invite the general public to your event. 

We hope to hear back from you (Share Photos! Post to the facebook page!) after the event, so that we can map where you cleaned, how it went, how many people attended, and maybe get some pictures to post and show at our final tally at the Spring Fling on April 27^th. 

FAQs: 

What should I do with the trash I collect? 

Please photograph your loot for us and share the picture! 

If you are able to dispose of your collection with your household trash, that is fine and easy. We are also working on supplying specific bags that the town transfer station will accept even if you don’t have a transfer station permit. If you need more support with trash disposal, please let us know and we will help! 

I want to participate but worry that I won’t find any litter. Can you point me to an area that I can clean? 

Sure, we are happy to help you identify an area that would benefit from some litter picking!  

That said, the simplest possibility is to pick up litter on your own street, and what our previous participants have told us in unison is: “I didn’t think I would find much, but once I started looking, oh boy, there was a lot of litter!”. 

Observation also taught us that litter is more likely to be found in the more natural/wooded parts of roadsides, so look closely where natural landscapes border on your street or trail. 

Should I separate any recyclables? 

Our main goal is to beautify our town and its lovely natural environment, and to protect our wildlife and waterways from plastic waste. So - if the idea of carrying several bags for different recyclables bogs you down, simply skip that option. 

Experience teaches us that the condition of many items found, even if they were recyclable at one point, makes recycling not worthwhile. This is in particular true for most plastic found. If you feel very motivated to recycle, the best items to do separate out are beer cans – you will find many, and their recycling is worthwhile and effective.