Westfield Earth Day cleanup collects over 100 bags of trash

Volunteers from Ward 1 collected 40 bags of trash.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

WESTFIELD — Conservation Coordinator Nicholas Balick said the city’s 14th annual Earth Day cleanup on April 25 was extremely successful.

More than 80 registered participants gathered 106 bags of trash and larger items that were picked up by DPW crews on April 28.

Registration took place in the morning at the Mount Moriah Lodge on Broad Street, where people came and picked up supplies for their groups provided by the Westfield Walmart and Stop & Shop on Main Street. “We’re thankful for the supplies,” said Balick. The volunteers returned for a lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the Masons at noon.

Balick was assisted in the coordination of his first Earth Day clean-up by former Conservation Coordinator Karen Leigh. The city also partnered with the Westfield River Watershed Association, which helped to facilitate the event and brought a large group of volunteers. Also participating were City Councilors Karen Fanion, Brent Bean and Bridget Matthews-Kane, along with girl scouts and Westfield State University students.

Volunteers were sent out to Lockhouse Road, Servistar Industrial Way, Whitney Park, Columbia Greenway Rail Trail, downtown Westfield on Elm Street, South Broad and Main Street, Route 20 along the railroad tracks by Walmart, the east end of Union Street, the Dog Bark and by the river next to the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Fanion said her group of 25 volunteers from Ward 1 filled 40 trash bags and pulled numerous bulk items out of the tree belt and woods for the DPW to collect. “It was astonishing to see what had been discarded: tires, a car battery, a countertop and cabinet, a chair, large metal piping, and even a wire and conduit box,” she said, thanking all the residents who turned out, with special thanks to the young people who participated.

“As rewarding as it felt to clean up, it would be even more rewarding if such efforts were not necessary — if people simply refrained from littering. Most of what we collected were paper coffee cups, plastic drink cups with lids and straws, plastic water bottles, fast food bags and wrappers, and, most disturbingly, plastic nip bottles, beer bottles and other alcoholic beverage containers,” Fanion said.

Balick said a lot of the trash comes from traffic. Comments were made to him about the unbelievable number of nip bottles that were picked up. Some volunteers said they picked up more than 200, filling an entire trash bag. He said there were tons of residual litter, such as fast food wrappings and grocery store bags. “A lot of single-use items,” he said.

“The volunteers came back dirty and excited about the positive impact they made,” Balick said, adding it is gratifying to see the difference before and after. He sent younger families out to different parks to collect trash. “They had a great time. The kids had so much fun.”

Balick said the city is committed to repeating the Earth Day clean-up next year, which he plans to refine and expand. “This event matters. It definitely had an impact on litter across Westfield and its waterways.”