Hundreds join West Milford Beautification Day despite wet weather

Wet and chilly weather could not deter volunteers from cleaning up West Milford roadsides with many enjoying a mid-day picnic at Bubbling Springs Lower Lake pavilion during the Township’s Beautification Day, Saturday, April 25.

The annual spring cleanup organized by the Township Beautification & Recycling Committee recruited over a thousand local volunteers who collected several hundred bags of litter and debris over the past month.

Registered volunteers were provided with supplies, including trash bags, through the Township Department of Public Works. Many individuals cleaned roadsides independently.

West Milford Councilwoman Ada Erik, who serves as the Council’s liaison to the Committee, pointed out that the spring and autumn cleanups and ongoing collection significantly reduced the amount of litter and debris on roadsides this year.

“Volunteers filled far fewer large bags of litter and picked up fewer discarded items including car parts, tires, metal items and more than last spring,” Erik said. “On Echo Lake Road, we filled 163 bags this year compared to last year’s 739 bags.”

“It was the same with other roadsides. This shows the program is really working. For the first time, we had teams working along Route 23, where there was lots of litter.

“It’s all about having pride and protecting our environment and future,” Erik added. “Keep litter in your car, take it home, don’t toss it out. If you see something, stop and pick it up. Keep West Milford beautiful.”

The Beautification Day picnic featured hot dogs (cooked again by Councilman Kevin Goodsir), snacks and water along with games, music, and prizes for most unusual, oldest and most valuable litter found.

Attendees received branded cooler bags and other gift items made available from financial grants, which Erik noted were awarded by organizations impressed with the Committee’s results.

Volunteer mom’s Erin Colfax and Karen Muto, owner of DeMarco’s Pizzeria & Restaurant in Hewitt which sponsored the picnic, with their children picked-up trash and debris on Beautification Day and enjoyed the picnic. DeMarco’s also provided attendees with coupons for free slices of pizza. Muto is a Junior Highlanders track and field coach.

“We were outdoors this morning doing cleanup on behalf of the Junior Highlanders track and baseball teams,” said Colfax, who is a science teacher at West Essex Middle School and Climate Change Consultant for the New Jersey School of Conservation.

“It’s our way of contributing to the cleanup and getting our kids from the recreation programs give back to the community.”