Princeton Environmental Commission chair Matt Wasserman, Mayor Liz Lempert and Watershed executive director Jim Waltman pitch in at Turning Basin Park in Princeton April 5, 2014.
Volunteers from 12 communities joined with the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association for the eighth annual Stream Cleanup over two weekends in April.
The association removes 11,664 pounds of trash from local streams and lakes on April 5 and 12.
Volunteers from 12 towns and four counties rolled up their sleeves to help keep our lakes, rivers and streams clean and healthy. The 12 towns that participated in the cleanup are Cranbury, East Windsor, Franklin Township, Hightstown, Hillsborough, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township, Millstone Township, Monroe Township, Plainsboro Township, Princeton and West Windsor.
At Turning Basin Park in Princeton, Mayor Liz Lempert and 52 area volunteers collected 450 pounds of trash and debris left by flood, wind and littering from the D&R canal, preventing it from reaching the downstream Stony Brook and Millstone River.
Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association policy director Jennifer Coffey said they collected a record amount of trash during the event.
“The record amount of trash removed from our watershed is a testament to the sheer number of dedicated volunteers who came out this year,” Coffey said in a statement. “Our shared waterways continue to suffer from pollution and much of it is avoidable. Our annual cleanup events are just one of the Watershed’s many initiatives to restore New Jersey’s water.”
Some of the more unusual items removed include tires, patio chairs, and wooden beekeeper frame. As in past years, plastic bottles, shopping bags and food wrappers continue to be the most prevalent items pulled.
The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, a not-for-profit organization, protects the 265-square-mile region drained by the Stony Brook and Millstone River – an area spanning 25 towns and five counties.
More information is online at thewatershed.org.
