Trash Travels: Volunteers Track It Down, Clean It Up, Improve Environment

Preserving waterways and protecting wildlife are crucial, more than ever, in saving the environment and protecting ocean life. 

During September and October 2022, Save the Sounds’s Connecticut Cleanup Crews came back for the 20th year. Participants helped to pick up trash on beaches to keep the Long Island Sound safe and clean. Cleanup Captains took a leadership role and guided their crews to success.

The Connecticut Cleanup crew is part of a larger effort, the International Coastal Cleanup. According to Annalisa Paltauf, the Ecological Restoration Assistant and Volunteer Coordinator with Save the Sound, the Connecticut Cleanup and the International Coastal Cleanup help save various animals including turtles and whales. When these animals see litter and plastic, they are likely to consume it.

“Trash travels. Anything left on the ground can end up in a water way,” said Paltauf. 

The International Coastal Cleanup is a nation-wide effort to clean up waterways, coordinated by the Ocean Conservancy. Each state has at least one coordinator. Connecticut has two; Save the Sound and the Connecticut River Conservancy. 

Save the Sound runs the Connecticut Cleanup. September 17th was the International Coastal Cleanup this year. According to Paltauf, most cleanups happen that day, but the Connecticut Cleanup runs from mid-August to the start of October.

Last year, there were a total of 2400 volunteers for the Connecticut Cleanup alone. This year there have been approximately 1600 volunteers, according to the most recent calculations, which has not accounted for about half the cleanups this summer and early fall. There are a handful of cleanups scheduled for later this month.

Cleanup Captains take on more responsibility, said Paltauf. They have the task of organizing the cleanup, arranging trash removal, contacting property owners, and guiding the volunteers. This year the Connecticut Cleanup has had about 80 cleanups, with more being planned.

For volunteer participants, the cleanups are around 2-3 hours during the weekends, so even someone who works full time can participate. 

 Cleanup Captains organized various cleanups while volunteers signed up for as many as they could. Some cleanups required smaller crews, where places like Hammonasset Beach State Park required a large crew. To get as much trash picked up as possible, Save the Sound welcomed people of all ages to participate, especially children and teenagers.

Save the Sound and Paltauf are dedicated to inspiring the younger generations to get involved in the community and help protect the environment. Teenagers were encouraged to get involved as Cleanup Captains and take on leadership positions this past cleanup.

“It is a great way to get children involved and inspire the next generation,” said Paltauf. 

Most student leaders were in high school and college, however, there have been a few middle schoolers in the past. The only condition for student leaders is that there must be an adult advisor. Most supervisors are teachers or scout leaders, according to Paltauf.

Save the Sound wants the younger generations to continue to make an impact on the environment and become more educated on the dangers of littering and pollution, so they will always advocate for students to get involved with leadership positions.

Cleanups are family friendly, emphasizes Paultaf. No matter the age, every person counts toward making a difference. Crews are typically made up of family and friends helping protect the environment, and making memories.

Two years ago, at the height of the pandemic, the Connecticut Cleanup ran a little differently. They held many virtual cleanups where volunteers used an app named Clean Swell to track the trash that they acquired. There were a total of 45 in-person cleanups, however many families did their own cleanups to stay safe. Normal years have an average of 60-70 cleanups; but, things are now back on track just two years later.

In 2020, the Ocean Conservancy declared that the International Coastal Cleanup was the entire month of September, rather just one day, to get more people involved.

2020 created a challenge for Save the Sound, however they persevered through it, and the Connecticut Cleanup is thriving once again.

The 2022 Connecticut Cleanup covered about 42 miles, filled 527 bags, found almost 17,000 cigarette butts, and more. These statistics are from the first half of the cleanups, meaning that the volunteers worked even harder than what has been tracked. On a single September Saturday, volunteers collected trash at 27 different parks and waterways as part of the Connecticut-based effort.

“It stops litter at its source,” said Paltauf. 

Humans and animals need water to survive, and the Long Island Sound is the heart of the region. The Long Island Sound is vulnerable to pollution, and it is important to keep it clean. Something that is dropped in a stream inland will make its way to the Long Island Sound and even oceans, according to Paultaf.

The danger is plain.  Animals will see this plastic and litter will be poisoned or will feel so full that they won’t eat anything else and die. The Connecticut Cleanup prevents these tragic animal casualties.

This year was the 20th anniversary of the Connecticut Cleanup and the 36th year of the International Coastal Cleanup. Even after a pandemic, the cleanups still prove to be a success.

The 2022 Connecticut Cleanup made it clear, apparently now more than ever,  that people do care.

This story was reported and written by Connecticut resident Sarah Klepack, a junior at Endicott College pursuing studies in communication and digital journalism.