Groveland riverbank cleanup yields nearly six tons of trash and junk

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

Sep. 30—GROVELAND — A recent cleanup along the banks of the Merrimack River in Groveland organized by Clean River Project of Methuen yielded more than six tons of trash and junk of various sorts over a two week period.

The cleanup, which ran for two weeks, from July 30 to Aug. 13, was supported by dozens of volunteers and produced an astounding amount of trash and junk, including: 216 hypodermic needles, 24 tires, 1,793 plastic bottles, 108 cans, 135 glass bottles, 882 nip bottles, 38 shoes, 137 lighters, 119 balls, 62 feminine applicators, 63 fishing bobbers, hundreds of Dunkin coffee cups, more than 100 feet of rope and heavy chain, a complete plastic truck bed insert, more than 200 pounds of metal, eight propane tanks, 52 smokeless tobacco cans, 48 medicine bottles, 50 shotgun shells, a balloon tank, and a wine bottle with a note in it.

Rocky Morrison, president of Clean River Project, said his workers sort out everything collected. Disposable coffee cups, fabrics, construction debris and other trash is delivered to Covanta in Haverhill. Metal items are sent to Windfield Alloy in Lawrence, plastic and glass bottles are sent to the Methuen Transfer Station, tires are sent to a local tire shop for disposal while propane tanks are delivered to other area transfer stations.

"We would like to thank the residents of Groveland who came out to volunteer their time in helping to clean the shorelines, Boy Scout Troop 87, IHS Market, and Watts Water Technologies," said Rocky Morrison, president of Clean River Project. "Of course, it goes without saying we also want to thank The Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) for awarding us the grant to make this cleanup possible."

Morrison was referring to a $22,980 grant from the ECCF his nonprofit received in February specifically targeting the banks of the Merrimack River in Groveland.

Morrison said his nonprofit environmental cleanup organization is grateful for this opportunity because in 18 years of cleaning the river, "we had never had the opportunity to clean the Groveland shorelines."

"We have received numerous calls from residents who have said 'the shorelines have never looked this good' and 'thank you for all your hard work,'" Morrison said.