GREENFIELD — The Deerfield River Watershed Association and Greenfield Department of Public Works are sponsoring a month-long litter cleanup event that will envelop the annual Franklin County Rivers Cleanup slated for the weekend of Sept. 23.
Blue Bag September is a free opportunity for residents of Greenfield to dispose of trash and debris found in their neighborhoods.
“If you look at areas around Greenfield … there’s an enormous amount of trash that’s accumulated, and we’re just hoping that people take an interest in the areas and their neighborhoods to help clean up the greater Greenfield area,” said David Boles, a Deerfield River Watershed Association board member who spearheads Blue Bag September. “You can go to Canada and every city up there is clean. What I don’t understand is why our cities are trashed.”
People are welcome to pick up free blue trash bags at the DPW at 189 Wells St. and the John Zon Community Center at 35 Pleasant St. any day this month. Bags filled with litter can be placed curbside for free pickup by the DPW. However, the bags are not to be used for household or property trash. Large items that do not fit inside the blue bags will not be picked up. The DPW is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the community center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the same days.
Boles said he believes this is the third year that Blue Bag September has been held.
“Several people put their heads together (to come up with the idea),” he recounted.
He said 600 blue bags were collected in 2021.
Janine Greaves, recycling coordinator and office manager at the Greenfield DPW, said she orders the bags from McMaster-Carr Supply Co. She said Greenfield has offered blue trash bags year-round for decades for people wanting to help clean up their streets, but this event is a great way to publicize the option for the community.
“It’s just kind of snowballed into Blue Bag September, which is wonderful,” she said.
Greaves said the average anti-litter crusader requests two to three bags.
Boles said he hopes Blue Bag September inspires people to “move Greenfield to a city that respects itself and wants to stay clean.”
More information about the annual Franklin County Rivers Cleanup — formerly known as the Green River Cleanup — scheduled for later this month is available at bit.ly/3TDyKYj.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.