Clean Up and Recycling Report — April 17, 2010

Our Clean Ups to celebrate Earth Day were in advance of Earth Day this year. We like April to do our Clean Ups for a host of reasons, but April can give you some rude surprises. This year we got one in the form of wind, sleet, snow, and some temperatures less that ideal. That said, we are happy to report that a hardy bunch of volunteers made their way to both Sharon and Jamestown to brave these conditions and make our day a success at both places.

In Jamestown we re-visited a dump site that was part of our past two Earth Day events. Once again we scoured an area along the Shenango River, and adjacent wetland, and the proposed bike trail area of the Mercer County Trails association. The previous two years transformed this area from a dump to and area that just could use some more attention. And more attention it received, we gathered car parts, appliances, barrels, cans, tires, and an array of the usual trash subjects. The steel to recycle again measured in the tons. We would not go so far as to say "it's done", but we could not be happier with the impact that was made this day thanks to the hard work and dedication of our Jamestown volunteers.

Our work in Sharon visited some familiar territory along the Shenango River corridor of in downtown Sharon. A large group, thumbed their noses to the weather and toughed out the "not so spring like" conditions to improve this area in a big way. Four pick up loads of trash, a load of steel to recycle, and few tires were rounded up in the process. But the capper was a prosthetic leg with shoe still attached. We've gathered up some interesting things in our years of river clean ups, but this one is high on the list of special finds. That’s a story in itself that is still unfolding so stay tuned. The day ended on a warmer note with some great pizza supplied by Marchelloni Pizza of Hermitage.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers and supporters who helped make the day a success. We always start the year hoping for great things to improve the watershed. After these Clean Ups, we're well on our way to realizing that.

Rick Barborak / Don Clowes
Clean Up and Recycling Committee