Volunteers collect 311 pounds of trash in shoreline cleanup

Provided photos: The volunteers are shown with the collected trash on Saturday.

Press Release, Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District

ALBION –  On Saturday groups of enthusiastic volunteers came to participate in the American Littoral Society’s annual New York State Shoreline Cleanup and collected 311 pounds of trash.

The local cleanup is overseen and organized by the Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District. The volunteers, consisting of USDA employees, 4-H members and Girl Scout Troop 82007 were split into groups and sent to different locations to remove litter from nearby waterways.

This year’s cleanup sites were Oak Orchard Dam, Canal Widewaters, Glenwood Lake and Point Breeze. The groups met up at Bullard Park in Albion to receive instructions and materials before getting sent to their respective sites.

Girl Scout Troop 82007 hunted down lots of litter.

Every piece of debris collected was categorized and recorded on data sheets, which were then summarized and sent back to the American Littoral Society. The Littoral Society uses the data from groups across the country for statistical analysis. This allows them to observe and track trends in sources of trash.

Some of the more commonly found items this year were used masks and cans, with a few unusual finds such as a kiddie pool. This event was sponsored locally by the Orleans County Soil & Water Conservation District in conjunction with the Orleans County Water Quality Coordinating Committee.

The Soil & Water crew includes from left: Katie Sommerfeldt, Megan McAnn and Melissa Rivelis.