Greenfield, MA. September 1, 2010. The t-shirts are printed; the work gloves and trash bags are lined up, ready for distribution. Now all the Connecticut River Watershed Council needs are a few thousand volunteers for the October 2, 2010 Source to Sea Cleanup. This year, NRG Energy again leads the way as title sponsor, with many of its Connecticut employees also donating their time and energy for a cleanup on Friday, October 1.

If last year’s event was any indication, this year may be even better. Despite showery skies, 2,132 volunteers fanned out across the 410 mile river basin for last year’s Cleanup. They ranged from scout troops and river neighbors, to corporations, schools, and boating clubs.

NRG’s employees have signed up to tackle the trash accumulated on Dart Island in the Connecticut River at Middletown, something they’ve done for the past four years, “We love participating in the hands-on part of this project,” says Plant Manager Jeff Araujo of NRG Energy’s Middletown Station, “NRG is proud to have been title sponsor of the Source to Sea Cleanup for many years. It’s a way to make a difference where we work, and it supports the contributions that cleanup volunteers are making in their own communities.”

Last year, volunteers hauled 85 tons of trash, tires, and discarded appliances away from the region’s riverbanks. Jacqueline Talbot, the Cleanup’s Coordinator and also CRC’s River Steward in Connecticut, says planning for the Council’s 14th Cleanup got off to a quick start this summer, assisted in part by a new reporting link on their website, “It lets volunteers and interested citizens register information on where riverside trash is being dumped in their communities.” That innovation is helping prioritize the ground work that will be tackled this fall: http://ctriver.org/programs/outreach_education/source_to_sea_cleanup/scouting

New and returning volunteers and potential sponsors are asked to register with CRC by Friday, September 17th. “This is a terrific way to get involved in protecting your river,” says NRG’s Araujo.

For more information on the Cleanup in your area, visit ctriver.org or contact Jacqueline Talbot by email at: cleanup@ctriver.org, or by phone at: (860) 704-0057.

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About CRC
Founded in 1952. Accomplishments include restoring access to spawning areas for migratory fish, protecting over 8,000 acres, and mobilizing volunteers to conduct water quality testing and remove over 100 tons of trash from local waterways through the annual Source to Sea Cleanup. Learn more at ctriver.org.

About NRG
NRG Energy, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company that owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. Headquartered in Princeton, NJ, the Company’s power plants—including plants in Cos Cob, Middletown, Milford, Norwalk and Uncasville, CT—provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity, enough to supply more than 20 million homes.