Cameras Identify Litterbugs

Litter collected at Eklund during a two-week period

Chronic vandalism plagues some of the trailheads in Shelton, so the Conservation Commission has responded by investing in cameras designed to take pictures of wild game, but which can be placed where there is no electricity.  The cameras can be moved about where most needed.  Eklund Garden, located near Hope Lake on Oak Valley Road, has been plagued with vandalism for years, so cameras were installed recently. 

Over the course of about two weeks, the Conservation Agent inspected the parking lot every day or two, picking up all litter, which can be seen in the top photo.  The camera memory cards were then pulled out of the cameras and the photos reviewed.  It was discovered that the parking lot was being used as a frequent party location for a group of young adults, with the largest gatherings coinciding with litter collection shortly thereafter.  

During the largest of the gatherings, someone can be seen putting down a plastic bag and then pulling out a six-pack of Corona beer.  The litter picked up after this gathering includes the black plastic bag left on the rock (visible in all subsequent pictures until picked up by the Conservation Agent), the empty cardboard Corona carton, 5 Corona beer bottles, and several Corona beer bottle caps, along with a load of other litter. The information is being forwarded to the Police for enforcement. 

Clean Sweep Volunteers Pack the Auditorium

Clean Sweep volunteers, including 140 Scouts and their families, turned up in droves to receive their certificates and custom patches at the annual Clean Sweep Recognition Event on June 12.  Attendance was higher than expected and the auditorium was packed.  Mayor Lauretti noted in his opening remarks that the event may be moved to a larger venue in the future to accommodate the growing number of participants. 

Gil Pastore, Chairman of the Anti-Litter Committee, ran through some statistics for Clean Sweep 2013:  More than 640 participants picked up a total of 340 large garbage bags of litter, 2500 lbs of scrap metal (Boy Scout Troop 28), 3 full pickup truckloads of debris (Land Trust), and 65 cubic yards of garbage hauled from the river (Housatonic River Cleanup, Inc.), not to mention a large assortment of items such as mattresses, tires, and construction debris. 

Chairman Gil Pastore hands out certificates

The Committee started out with seven special awards:

Housatonic River Cleanup, Inc. - "Special Recognition"  

for the largest cleanup in Shelton. This year, 168 people removed an estimated 65 cubic yards from the river and piled it up at the Sunnyside boat ramp.  This is only part of their efforts, however, which also included more volunteers removing litter from the Housatonic in Stratford and Milford. 

Chris Papp -- "Special recognition" for years of cleaning up the Housatonic River. 

Boy Scout Troop 28 - "Heavy Metal Champions" for removing 2500 lbs of debris, mostly scrap metal, from the Wiacek open space. 

Shelton Land Trust and Neighbors - "Best Find" - for pulling an old motorcycle out of the woods, along with three pickup trucks worth of junk from the open space adjacent to Wake Robin Drive. 

Cub Scout Pack 27 - "Volunteer of the Year" - Civic Group Category for removing 41 bags of litter from East Village Park.

Tighe & Bond - "Volunteer of the Year" - Business Category, for removing 25 large garbage bags of litter from parts of Isinglass Road and Huntington Street.

George Waters - "Volunteer of the Year" - Individual category, for tirelessly cleaning up the banks of the Housatonic River by canoe and kayak year round and cleaning up around the Shelton Canal, removing about 30 large bags and other assorted debris from our waterways. 

The Scouts seemed genuinely proud of their certificate, with one overheard saying, "I will treasure this for always!"  Each certificate was personally signed by Mayor Lauretti. Click here a list of those who volunteered for Clean Sweep. 

Picking out a door prize

After the certificate were awarded, the evening ended with door prizes, the highlight for many attendees. 

Preparing for the Clean Sweep Recognitions

Nearly 400 certificates with patches and seven special awards are all ready to be handed out this evening at the annual Clean Sweep Recognition event at City Hall at 7:00 pm. There's one box of Girl Scout certificates, one box of Cub Scout certificates, and the third box is Boy Scouts and assorted non-Scouts.  The patches are custom, and the Mayor signs each and every certificate. 

When everyone checks in, they get a raffle ticket for a door prize.  They can then proceed on to the auditorium and check out the door prizes, which are given out at the end of the event. If your number is called, you go on up to the table and pick whatever you want. 

 

This year we have assorted candy, 3 baseball caps (Yankees, Red Sox, and Rec Path), a DVD of the Hobbit, a colored clay art set, a portable speaker for gadgets like iPods, several super bouncy balls, colored bubbles, and  there will be a few more items added later on. 

 

And of course there will be refreshments. We have eight 50-packs of Munchkins and two dozen assorted donuts, as well as several cases of water to wash it all down.  Should be a good time for all.

Clean Sweep Award Winners Announced

A record 640 volunteers were involved with the 6th annual Shelton Clean Sweep held in April, removing litter from parks, roadways, school grounds, and waterways. The tally of litter removed from the city included 340 large plastic bags, 65 cubic yards, 2575 lbs of scrap metal, three full pickup trucks, as well larger items such as tires, vinyl siding, and mattresses.   Participants will be recognized by the Anti-Litter Committee and Mayor Lauretti at 7:00 pm on June 12 at City Hall, at which time certificates and patches will be distributed and the following awards will be given.

Clean Sweep award winners for 2013 are: 

Housatonic River Cleanup, Inc. - "Housatonic River Champions" - Special recognition for this mega-cleanup event in Shelton, Stratford, and Milford. This year, on the Shelton portion of the river alone, 168 people removed an estimated 65 cubic yards from the river and piled it up at the Sunnyside boat ramp.  This annual event has been held each year even before our Clean Sweep Program began six years ago.

 Housatonic River Cleanup, Inc. created a 65 cu.yd. pile of litter  at the Sunnyside Boat Ramp

Boy Scout Troop 28 - "Heavy Metal Champions" for removing 2500 lbs of debris, mostly scrap metal, from the Wiacek open space, where the debris had been lingering for years. This troop is a consistent over-achiever, having won our "Volunteer of the Year" award the previous three years.

Boy Scout Troop 28 at the Wiacek Open Space

Shelton Land Trust - "Best Find" - for pulling an old motorcycle out of the woods, along with  three pickup trucks worth of junk from the Land Trust open space adjacent to Wake Robin Drive.

Land Trust members with an old motorcycle pulled from the woods

Cub Scout Pack 27 - "Volunteer of the Year" - Civic Group category for removing 41 bags of litter from East Village Park. The Pack is another consistent overachiever and last year recieved a "Mount Trashmore" award.

Boy Scout Pack 27 at East Village Park. 

Tighe & Bond - "Volunteer of the Year" - Business category, for removing 25 large garbage bags of litter from parts of Isinglass Road and Huntington Street where they border Aquarion watershed lands.

Tighe & Bond employees along Isinglass & Huntington Street.

George Waters - "Volunteer of the Year" - Individual category for tirelessly cleaning up the banks of the Housatonic River by canoe and kayak year round and cleaning up around the Shelton Canal, removing about 30 large bags and other assorted debris from our waterways.

George Water's kayak on the Housatonic

A full list of Clean Sweep participants along with a photo album is on the DontTrashShelton.org website.  Patches and certificates are available to participants by completing an online Patch/certificate request form. Participants who do not attend the recognition event on June 12 will receive their patches and certificates later that week.

Happy Earth Day: Clean Sweep is underway

Shelton Clean Sweep is the entire week of Earth Day, April 22.  This year the dates are April 20-28, which includes two full weekends. Here are some of the first cleanups:

Cub Scout Pack 27 removed 41 bags and misc stuff from East Village Park

The Land Trust pulled this debris out of conservation lands off of Wake Robin Drive.

Another pile of debris removed by the Shelton Land Trust.

Garbage collected from the Canal Street area by George Waters

One of the piles assembled by Tighe & Bond on Isinglass Road

The other pile by Tighe & Bond, this one at the corner of Isinglass & Huntington St.

Caitlin and Conner McGuire with Jack and Jason Mandulak and parents cleaned up Booth Hill Road.

Litter from the Housatonic River loaded into a kayak by George Waters.

Utility Company Litter

[The following post is by Teresa]:  Everything in the photo above was picked up beneath an AT&T  U-Verse "cabinet" one day in April in my neighborhood. This is one of those big green metal control panels. I've walked past the box every day for years and there is always something there on the ground. In addition to what you see in the picture, there are hundreds of little snippets of wire in the dirt too small and numerous to pick up. This is a clear violation of Shelton's Litter ordinance. I've personally had to pick up litter in this spot over and over again. Common guys, pick up after yourself please!

There was also a mess left behind after Hurricane Sandy and the Blizzard wherever the wires had been down on Mill Street and Judson Street -- lots of pieces of plastic and metal. It's understandable that some litter may be left behind by emergency crews in a rush to bring back the power. But it doesn't seem fair for neighborhood volunteers to be stuck picking up debris from the utility companies months after power has been restored.

Update 4/ 19/2013:  Ingrid Waters, a member of the Anti-Litter Committee noted that she also frequently needs to clean up materials left by utility companies. She took the picture below just this week showing items near #88 Long Hill Cross Road:

Gearing Up for Clean Sweep

Shelton's 6th annual "Clean Sweep" commences on Saturday, April 20, as civic groups, homeowners, and businesses head outdoors to pick up litter in their neighborhoods.  The event lasts the full week of Earth Day (April 22) and ends on Sunday, April 28.

Participants choose the where and when.  Some work alone and others organize group events. Cleanup locations included public areas such as streets, parks, school grounds, and waterways. After the cleanup, the City will pick up the accumulated litter if called.

Adults working alone typically pick up litter along the streets in their neighborhood, while Scouting groups focus on parks and school grounds so that children are not exposed to traffic. Businesses have tackled some of Shelton's more difficult stretches of roadway, including portions of Isinglass and Booth Hill Roads. Businesses now also have the option of adopting a street for year round cleanup in exchange for a street sign with their name on it.

Some of the reasons Sheltonites have given for why they pick up litter have included:

• "Because I live here." 
• "I want my kids to grow up seeing clean streets and parks."
• "I want to keep property values up."
• "A clean street and parking lot helps my business image."
• "I have company coming over and want the street to look nice." 
• "I want to prevent litter from getting washed into the river."

Free patches are available

Registration is not required, but is encouraged. The Anti-Litter Committee has also set up a simple online form where people can record a cleanup year-round.  Online registration and cleanup reports can be found at DontTrashShelton.org, along with answers to frequently asked questions.

Clean Sweep has proved to be quite successful during its first five years, with an estimated 500 people participating throughout Shelton each year, not including the related Housatonic River Cleanup. This year the River Cleanup, which is organized by a group of boaters, will be held on Saturday, April 27, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Sunnyside Boat Launch.

Clean Sweep participants are eligible for free custom patches and certificates from the Mayor, which are awarded at a special recognition event held in June, complete with refreshments and door prizes. This year the event will be held on June 12, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium. The event is especially popular with Scouting groups.

Although Clean Sweep officially kicks off on April 20 this year,  cleanups prior to that date can qualify as Clean Sweep projects if the cleanup is registered online. Bags and gloves are now available at the Community Center (main office) and City Hall (Mayor's office). To request a pickup from Highways & Bridges, call 203-924-9277 during business hours.

For more information, visit DontTrashShelton.org or call the Conservation Agent at 203-924-1555 x315.