Wayland Cleans Up! Targets Roadside Litter
Town-wide Event Saturday, April 10th 2010
In Concert with
Green Team’s Earth Day Celebration Sunday
WAYLAND, MA – The receding flood waters and melted snow are revealing the heaps of bright litter that is caught in the grasses and scrub branches along our town roadways. Wayland Cleans Up!, the annual anti-litter effort now in its fifth year, aims to rid the scene of plastic bags, beer cans, water and fruit drink bottles, fast-food restaurant wrappers and cups, and much more are easily visible all over town.
Wayland Transfer Station Superintendent George Russell welcomes Wayland Cleans Up! organizer Cliff Kolovson as he drops off the litter he collected one morning after a walk around Dudley Pond. Russell and his crew will be providing containers for trash and recycling at both Wayland High School and at Claypit Hill school on April 10th for the annual clean up campaign.
“It brings tears,” said organizer Cliff Kolovson, “real tears as I bike around town and see the accumulation. And I get mad. I’m mad at kids who have tossed beer boxes loaded with their empties so they don’t get caught with it. I’m mad at contractors who don’t secure trash in the back of their trucks and have it blow out, and I’m mad at everyone who is too lazy to properly dispose of coffee cups and sandwich wrappers…. how hard is it really?”
Kolovson, a child of the 60s when Earth Day was first celebrated, has seen many anti-litter campaigns – from the iconic Keep America Beautiful campaign featuring the ‘Crying Indian’ to today’s simpler messages that are so hard to notice. “And yet, the problem is worse than ever,” he says, “and it’s right here in our beautiful back yard.”
Kolovson hopes lots of people and organizations will help this year on Saturday, April 10 from 9 am to 3 pm to collect litter and recycle it at sorting stations at both the high school and Claypit Hill school. “You don’t have to wait until then,” he urges. Every homeowner should get out now for a walk and collect everything they can see from the roadways, even if it’s not on their property. And every business in town should pick up all around their stores and offices… even from places where most people won’t see it. It only takes minutes, Kolovson says.
He has been walking around his neighborhood with little bags from past campaigns. One bag has a sticker, “Talk A Walk, Take A Bag” which was given to him by a past litter collection organizer years ago. He filled three on one short, morning walk.
The Wayland Cleans Up! effort is supported by the town’s Transfer Station team supervised by George Russell. They will be providing dumpsters and recycling containers. High School students are being organized by senior Ian Bonner to staff the two collection/sorting sites to help collectors sort their bags of litter into recycling containers.
It also has been generously supported by the Wayland Business Association and several of its members who funded bright orange T-shirts so volunteers can be seen clearly while working on the roadways. Companies contributing included Boos & Chan financial consultants, Baldwin Insurance Agency, The Village Bank, Exit First Choice Professional Realty, Poorvu Construction Co., Wayland Kitchens, Computer Care Associates, Russell’s Garden Center, One2One Bodyscapes, The Robbs Photography, Parmenter Community Health Care, and Pointed Communications.
Front of T-shirt for Wayland Cleans Up! campaign sponsored by the Wayland Business Association and several of its members.
It also is being supported by Starbucks of Cochituate. They will be supplying food, coffee and a table for volunteers to register their service. If we can record 100 hours of service, it will again qualify Wayland to earn $1,000 in the Starbucks 'Make Your Mark' program. At Starbucks during the Saturday clean up you’ll find co-organizer Chris DeVany. He has worked on the project since its inception and routinely keeps an eye on Rte. 27 north picking up litter in the river flood area.
And the annual clean up effort is getting a big boost from working with the school’s Green Team and the WHS Environmental Club which are organizing an Earth Day Celebration on Sunday, April 11th at Town Building (11 am - 2 pm). This event will feature displays and demonstrations of green technology, music and entertainment for youngsters and adults, local businesses and much more.
More Information
Kolovson produces the Wayland Cleans Up! Web site: http://cleanup.pointed.com/ with photos of the cleanup. This year, he already has posted the famous 1970’s public service announcement, the “Crying Indian,” created by Keep America Beautiful. This had a poignant message, (delivered by famous actor William Conrad) “People Start Pollution, People Can Stop It.”
Volunteers should contact either organizer right away by phone or email. Kolovson can be reached at 508-655-9696 or cliff@pointed.com; and DeVany can be reached at 508-358-8070 or cDeVany@ppiw.com.
Hot spots include:
- Rte 27 Center to Sudbury Line
- River Road and Water Row
- Rice Road end to end, particularly in middle near Hamlin Woods
- Old CT Path from Rte. 20 to Framingham line
- Pelham Island Road from Center to Sudbury Line
- Stonebridge from 126 to Sudbury Line
- Main Street from town line or Rte. 30 to School St
- Cochituate Road from School St to Center
- Plain Road particularly at head off Rte. 20
- Rte. 20 near the West end, between Russell’s and the town line
- Rte. 30 in many spots, particularly at the East end
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