Thousands of Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have removed tons of trash from the Connecticut River basin, preventing the refuse from reaching Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean, and vast garbage patches floating worldwide.
According to Charles J. Moore, founder of the Algalita Marine Research and Education Institute in California, writing an opinion piece in the Aug. 25 New York Times, plastics rank as a top ocean pollutant.
Indeed, he said, large plastic garbage patches called gyres cover as much as 40 percent of the planet's ocean surface, or roughly 25 percent of the globe.
Organizers of the 18th annual Source to Sea Cleanup say there is something you can do about this.
The cleanup, a two-day collaborative event hosted by the Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC), seeks volunteers in the four states of the roughly 410-mile Connecticut River watershed: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.
On Sept. 26 and 27, volunteers will pick up trash along rivers, streams, stream banks, parks, boat launches, and trails.
According to CRWC Executive Director Andrew Fisk, the Connecticut River, New England's largest river, provides more than 70 percent of the fresh water to the Long Island Sound, and cleanup efforts there are effective.
“Over the past 17 years of the cleanup, volunteers have removed more than 851 tons of trash just from the Connecticut River basin. By participating in the Source to Sea Cleanup, local folks are making our corner of the planet just that much cleaner,” Fisk said in a press release.
Cleanup Coordinator and River Steward Jacqueline Talbot added her voice to the appeal, saying volunteers had pulled “unbelievable things” from our rivers, including a cement mixer, parking meters, propane tanks, and junked cars.
She explained that in 2013 more than 2,200 volunteers pulled more than 45 tons of trash, including 24 shopping carts, 20 television sets, 14 couches, two refrigerators, more than 8,400 plastic bottles, and hundreds of tires from our riverbanks and waterways.
“When so many people step up to be a part of the solution for healthy rivers, it inspires hope,” Talbot said.
Organizers said they support a new vision of zero waste for the Connecticut River and its tributaries and plan to use 2014 trash data to help inform policies and legislation that will get bottle and tire waste out of our rivers.
This includes supporting the expansion of existing bottle bills to include all single-use beverage containers and the creation of legislation allowing for free tire disposal, Talbot said.