North Andover Celebrating Earth Day With Town-Wide Clean-Up

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover will celebrate Earth Day, a day late, when it hosts the Town-wide Clean-up later this month.

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon on April 23, with a rain date on April 30.

On the day of the event, participants are asked to check in at North Andover Middle School, 495 Main St., to pick up cleanup items like trash bags, gloves and grabbers.

"Then, help clean up your neighborhood, favorite park or a section of town that needs attention," North Andover officials said in a statement.

Additionally, during the Town-wide Clean-up, North Andover's Sustainability Committee will have Earth Machine compost bins available for purchase. The bins cost $37.19, and checks should be made out to the Town of Andover.

Bins also are available year-round through the North Andover Department of Public Works (DPW)

"Composting is when organic materials in things such as food and yard waste, decompose and create a nutrient rich soil that people often refer to as 'black gold," North Andover's DPW explained in a statement. "By composting, not only can you create this super soil that you can add to your garden, lawn and house plants, but you can also remove hundreds of pounds of this organic matter from your household waste every year."

The DPW continued: "By reducing the garbage that you have, you reduce the garbage that is transported from your curb each week to Holt Road, where it is then burned. Why burn these materials and add to possible air quality degradation when you can compost it and reuse it at home?"

Additionally, during the Town-wide, Clean-up, North Andover officials will be collecting textiles and recycling.

"Since the new ban from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection states that textiles are no longer allowed to be disposed in trash, bring down your unwanted textiles and we will help them find a new use," North Andover officials said in a statement.

North Andover residents also have an opportunity to purchase rain barrels, which they can do online from The Great American Rain Barrel Company. On the site, residents should go to "Community Programs" and select "North Andover." The deadline is midnight on May 8th.

The 60-gallon barrels cost as low as $84 and can be picked up between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on May 21 at the North Andover DPW.

Rain barrels collect rainwater from a house's rooftop and store it for later use on lawns, gardens and indoor plants. The use of rain barrels helps residents save money on their water bills, while also lowering water demands on municipalities and reducing the energy used at treatment plants.