“We’re Sick and Tired of Trashed Rivers!”

Take Action for Trash Solutions

Greenfield, MA – The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) is hosting their 23rd annual Source to Sea Cleanup on September 27 & 28, 2019. This year, CRC is asking Cleanup participants and all who enjoy our rivers to join them in demanding an end to trashed rivers. Learn how you can get involved at ctriver.org/takeaction.

“We all have a responsibility to do what we can, as individuals, to be part of the solution. And it’s more than just not littering,” says CRC Cleanup Coordinator, Stacey Lennard. “Too many people underestimate the power each of us has to make change.” CRC reminds you that switching to reusable shopping bags, water bottles, and coffee mugs absolutely makes a difference, and that impact is multiplied when you invite friends, family, co-workers, and others to join you in the effort.

If you’re looking for ways to do more for our environment, then CRC invites you to join them in taking action for your rivers. Details at ctriver.org/takeaction

  • Use your photos to help to spread the word about our trash problem and the impact on our rivers. Enter your Source to Sea Cleanup photos showing trashed rivers at their worst in CRC’s online photo contest. Then share your photos online via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #TiredOfTires and #PurgeThePlastic, tag local elected officials and the companies whose logos appear on the trash.
  • Join CRC in challenging two companies via social media – Dunkin’ and Cumberland Farms – whose trash is regularly found during the Source to Sea Cleanup. Tell them we expect better. We want less single-use plastic and plastic foam; we want more reusable and compostable options; we want items that are easier to recycle and keep out of landfills. Look for images to share, hashtags, and handles for these companies on CRC’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and at ctriver.org/takeaction
  • Harness the power of your almighty dollars. Money talks! Tell businesses what products to make and sell by buying reusable and refusing single-use plastic and foam.
  • Help prove that tire dumping is not just a historic problem but a problem still happening now. For any tires you find, decode the date of when it was made. Visit ctriver.org/cleanup to watch a video of how to age a tire and report results to CRC.
  • Contact your elected officials, share your river trash photos with them to show them the scope of the problem, and tell them to do their part to stop trash before it starts by passing stricter laws regulating common trash items like single-use plastics, tires, and plastic foam dock floats.
  • Attend a CRC Trash Talk event after the Source to Sea Cleanup to learn more about trash laws in your state and how you can help stop trash. Event details and RSVP at ctriver.org/takeaction.

“Our goal is to keep trash and tires from getting in our rivers in the first place and to eventually put ourselves out of the business of cleaning up our rivers,” says CRC Executive Director, Andrew Fisk. “We all have a responsibility to solve this problem—individuals, manufacturers, businesses, and government. These ideas are going to take time, decades even. And we’ll keep at it as long as it takes. But our rivers need change now.”

CRC encourages you to join the 23rd annual Source to Sea Cleanup to make a difference in your town. Each fall, over 2,000 volunteers fan out along the Connecticut River and tributary streams in four states (NH, VT, MA, CT). Over the past 22 years, cleanup volunteers have removed more than 1,100 tons of trash from the Connecticut River basin. To find a cleanup group near you, visit ctriver.org/cleanup and click on ‘Join a Group.’ This annual event has grown into one of the largest river cleanups in the country.

Eversource is the Lead Source to Sea Cleanup sponsor. “At Eversource we’re committed to caring for the environment and take great care to promote conservation while carefully managing natural and cultural resources,” said Eversource President of Corporate Citizenship Rod Powell. “Working with the CRC at their Source to Sea Cleanup event is an opportunity for our employees to put this passion for the environment into action as we serve the neighborhoods where we work and live.”

Since 1952, Connecticut River Conservancy has been the voice for the Connecticut River watershed, from source to sea. They collaborate with partners across four states to protect and advocate for your rivers and educate and engage communities. They bring people together to prevent pollution, improve habitat, and promote enjoyment of your river and its tributary streams. Healthy rivers support healthy economies. To learn more about CRC, or to make a contribution to help protect your rivers, visit ctriver.org.

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