NORTH HUDSON – The clean water advocacy group Hackensack Riverkeeper took part in 24 cleanups in 2015. Volunteers removed trash and debris from the Hackensack River and its tributaries from Clarkstown, New York in the north to Bayonne in the south. A total of 1,011 Riverkeeper volunteers removed 28,660 pounds of trash from the environment, including litter and illegally dumped tires, as well as untold amounts of wooden and metal debris.
While that may seem like a shocking amount of trash, Outreach and Cleanup Coordinator Caitlin Doran notes that the piles are definitely getting smaller. “The satisfaction you get when you haul out 10 bags is equal to the feeling you get when you haul out 100 bags,” she explained. “It means you are getting ahead of the problem, and believe me, you work just as hard to get those 10 bags of trash.”
Hackensack Riverkeeper conducts cleanups annually from April through November as part of their overall program season. The final cleanup of 2015 was held on Nov. 21 in conjunction with a Boy Scout troop in Maywood. Twenty participants removed 22 bags of trash, along with debris like a washing machine tub and outdoor furniture.
Besides local Scout troops, Hackensack Riverkeeper successfully organized volunteers from area businesses like United Water and Samsung USA, and colleges like Fairleigh Dickinson University and NJ Institute of Technology. They partnered with communities like Hackensack and River Edge and groups like the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey to advance their mission of protecting, preserving, and restoring the Hackensack River.
Involving the public is at the heart of Riverkeeper’s mission, creating a wider community of watershed stewards. Leaders of community groups or companies looking to plan a similar service event are invited to call (201) 968-0808 or e-mail outreach@hackensackriverkeeper.org.
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