Volunteers net 300 pounds of beach trash

by Ethan Hartley
Posted 7/4/17

By ETHAN HARTLEY A group of about 50 volunteers proved everybody can make a difference in the world, as they rolled up their sleeves, donned trash bags and plastic gloves while braving forceful gusts of wind and helped clean up large swaths of garbage

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Volunteers net 300 pounds of beach trash

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A group of about 50 volunteers proved everybody can make a difference in the world, as they rolled up their sleeves, donned trash bags and plastic gloves while braving forceful gusts of wind and helped clean up large swaths of garbage from the rocks and shorelines of Oakland Beach in on Thursday evening.

The volunteers were partially assembled as part of a senior project spearheaded by Ryan Conley and Ryan Parker, seniors at Toll Gate High School, who teamed up with Save the Bay (Narragansett Bay) to assist in the mission to “protect and improve Narragansett Bay.”

Save the Bay is scheduling cleanups every Thursday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. throughout June, July and August at four sites: Oakland Beach, Salter Grove, Conimicut and Rocky Point. The group assembled at Oakland Beach collected an astounding 305 pounds of trash, and Save the Bay has picked up a total of 750 pounds between the four locations in the month of June.

“When people see a clean beach, they're less likely to litter,” said Save the Bay Volunteer & Intern Manager, July Lewis, in her pre-cleanup speech to the crowd of volunteers. “It's something we really want to take a stand on, that it's not okay to trash the bay. You guys are all a big part of that.”

Trash pickers then set off, most with mechanized trash pickers, to scour the rocky bastions of Oakland Beach for bottles, plastic containers, Styrofoam, paper litter and every different piece of refuse imaginable.

Although empty cups of frozen lemonade, cigarette packs and loose napkins were among the most common litter, people also found an abundance of plastics, including food containers, utensils and plastic cups. Plastic litter is especially harmful to marine life, as it can cause serious health complications if ingested.

Conley and Parker chose the project because they have a love and respect for the environment. Conley held a job as a trash picker for the city when he was younger, and Parker said he wishes to become an environmental scientist.

“They were awesome. They had such terrific energy and they really got the community out there,” Lewis said of the two high schoolers. “It was such a terrific event.”

“They wanted to pick a project that they knew mattered,” said Michael Sollitto, social studies teacher at Toll Gate. “I’m so impressed by their choice and by their commitment.”

Lewis said she feels a special level of commitment from individuals and community groups in Warwick who are dedicated to keeping their coastlines as clean as possible.

“There's so many people out there doing the right thing,” she said. “And to the people doing the wrong, we say ‘Please stop!”

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