By Patrick Adrian
Staff Writer
CLAREMONT — Earth Week in Claremont this year looks closer to Earth Month with three scheduled city cleanup events taking place between April 18 and May 7, each hosted by different organizations.
Whether driven by a growing concern for a trash-free habitat, city pride or pent-up spring fever, this season a multitude of local groups are hosting various community cleanups over the next month, inviting community members of all ages to help beautify the city by disposing of litter along streets and trails.
Having so many cleanup days in one month was not intentional, as each group organized its event without knowledge of other cleanups in the works. But most sponsors say having multiple cleanups is not a bad thing in any regard.
“We are going to have a very clean city,” said Rocky Beliveau, 25, owner and chef of Rocky’s Taqueria at 26 Opera House Square.
Beliveau, a Claremont native who recently returned to the city to open his downtown restaurant, said he was not aware of other cleanup projects when deciding to host his own, which took place on Sunday.
“I’m a very Green-thinker,” Beliveau told The Eagle Times. “I do my own cleanups. A few years ago I went out on my own and bagged up 200 pounds of trash, just to do it.”
Beliveau’s cleanup, held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m, drew more than 30 participants, including three students from the Key Club at Stevens High School, and support from the Claremont Public Works Department, who supplied a vehicle to transport the collected refuse to the city transfer station.
By the event’s close, the participants had amassed a sizable hill of stuffed bags of refuse collected about the city, including Sullivan Street, Half Mile Road, the Rail Trail, and the Visitor Green.
“It was pretty horrible out there,” said resident Jeremiah Mason, who had returned with fellow resident Clarissa Smolnik from a cleanup on Spring Farm Road.
In conjunction with Bellevieu’s event, the Claremont-Sugar River Rotary Club operated a cleanup on Grisham Lane. Initially planned as a separate event, the Rotarians, who have held an annual cleanup for several years, had 12 volunteers and collected 17 full and seven partially-filled bags of trash during their outing.
Some “surprising items,” according to Rotarian Jessica Ball, included a fan, a laundry basket, clothes, batteries, and a horse saddle.
“We were happy to help clean up one of the main veins into our town,” Ball said.
People who missed Sunday’s cleanup can still join either or both upcoming cleanup events in Claremont.
On Saturday, April 24, the Kiwanis of Claremont, in conjunction with the city, will be holding a cleanup day from 9 a.m. to noon. Participants will meet at the Claremont Savings Bank at 145 Broad St., where they can receive bags and location assignments.
That same day, the Claremont Transfer Station will be collecting used car and light truck tires for free disposal from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tires must be less than 20 inches in diameter, with or without rims. Residents must have a transfer station sticker to drop off tires. This offer does not extend to businesses.
On Friday, May 7, The Ink Factory will sponsor its second annual city cleanup in collaboration with Red River Inc. and the Claremont Department of Public Works.
Participants will receive free T-shirts courtesy of The Ink Factory and a pizza lunch donated by Red River.
The event starts at 9 a.m. and runs through the day. Participants may pick up their shirts, food, and cleaning supplies at the Ink Factory at 45 Water St.
Last year, The Ink Factory’s event brought 110 participants and collected over 6,000 pounds of trash from parks, roadsides, and trails throughout Claremont.
Jeff Barrett, owner of The Ink Factory, expressed confidence that participation and outcome will be similar this year.
“We expect it should be pretty well-attended and productive,” Barrett said.
Cleanup participants will include between 30-40 Red River employees as well as their executives and employees from Amcomm Wireless, located at 153 Washington St.
Organizers who spoke to The Eagle Times acknowledge it can be a challenge to have so many different cleanup days close together, because it requires coordinating between groups to minimize duplicating efforts in the same areas.
Jennifer Nelson, a Rotarian, said the upside is that each event was scheduled on a different day of the week. A person who is not available on Sundays, for example, may be able to participate on a Saturday. Similarly, The Ink Factory’s cleanup, scheduled for a Friday, is more likely to attract involvement of a company than on a weekend, when the employees may have other plans.
“And there will be people like me who will show up to all three,” Nelson said.
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