Despite COVID restrictions, over 300 volunteers gathered this past Saturday to clean up at 12 different sites near and along the Neponset River.

After just TWO hours, they pulled out 10 tons of trash, filling multiple dumpsters and trucks.

Here’s a list of just SOME of the items that were removed:

• 88 car tires
• 9 shopping carts
• 4 dump truck loads of furniture removed from the Greenlodge Street trail in Canton (mattresses, microwave, sofa, arm chairs, BBQ grill, animal trap, and construction debris)
• 252 bags of trash filled with single use plastic & glass bottles, nip bottles, papers, and assorted bits of trash
• 1 car battery
• traffic cones
• foam insulation
• metal pipes
• poles
• hub caps
• car bumper
• bike
• ceramic toilet
• office chair
• a bag of potatoes
• clothes
• masks
• flip flops
• fishing line
• dock
• ladder
• suitcase

Did you ever think that this kind of trash would be dumped in the river? It’s mind-boggling to us, too!

However, due to the hard work of our volunteers, the river is a little bit cleaner, wildlife is healthier, and more people can enjoy the river. Let’s keep it that way!

Click here to view photos of the Neponset River Cleanup

We can’t say THANK YOU enough to all of the volunteers for helping out with the cleanup! Special thanks go to:

Sponsors:  ENE Systems | Paddle Boston | James G Grant Co. | GZA | Budget Dumpster | Rockland Trust | South Shore Bank | Roche Bros | Shaws | Fruit Center Marketplace