Roadside Cleanup in Support of Earth Day
Annually in the spring, in honor of Earth Day, Millbrook faculty and students (under the very organized leadership of Trevor Zoo Director Jonathan Meigs '65) meet briefly before dispersing with gloves and garbage bags in hand to assigned stretches of road within close proximity of Millbrook's campus. It is our mission to pick up the truly amazing amount of garbage that accumulates in a period of 12 months, and we take our mission seriously, tramping through the roadside gulleys and grass with relish, to uncover and collect everything from bottles and bags to tires and televisions.
Our annual roadside clean-up is a perfect win-win opportunity: our neighbors and anyone who frequents our nearby roads benefit from a cleaner, more beautiful environment while our faculty and students live the core values we support (environmental stewardship and integrity), give back to the community, get good exercise, and actually raise a few dollars in the process.
On May 1st, Millbrook students and faculty collected 1,650 pounds of trash from School Road, Rt. 44, Bangall-Amenia Road, and other nearby roads. Within that trash were 1,154 bottles (beer and soda) as well as 960 other bottles (plastics and such including water, jolt, full throttle, iced tea, sobe, gatorade, and red bull). The 5¢ deposit bottles will be returned to collect just under $58, and the plastics were sorted in the appropriate recycling bins.
While metal car parts, tires, and used appliances are often among the roadside litter, there is sometimes an interesting find that is a little more out of the ordinary. This year the most intriguing items in the garbage were two death certificates.
A special thanks to senior Kyle Mills who finished roadside cleanup and then headed to the dumpsters to help sort and finish up. He has been a 4-year dumpster assistant, significant because the dumpster crew puts in much more time and has more yucky sorting to do, all the while enjoying the beautiful sights and smells of the dumpster area!
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While metal car parts, tires, and used appliances are often among the roadside litter, there is sometimes an interesting find that is a little more out of the ordinary. This year the most intriguing items in the garbage were two death certificates.
A special thanks to senior Kyle Mills who finished roadside cleanup and then headed to the dumpsters to help sort and finish up. He has been a 4-year dumpster assistant, significant because the dumpster crew puts in much more time and has more yucky sorting to do, all the while enjoying the beautiful sights and smells of the dumpster area!
