Summit Conservancy Hosts Litter Cleanup

Summit, NJ - Over 20 volunteers removed several hundred pounds of litter and debris from Passaic River Park during a recent cleanup sponsored by the Summit Conservancy. The area targeted for cleanup included the hiking trails, stream, and surrounding woods near the Transfer Station. Summit’s Environmental Commission and Union County helped coordinate the effort.
“There was quite a bit of litter strewn throughout the forest after the heavy rains and wind earlier this year,” according to Dwight Hiscano, the Summit Conservancy’s president. “We managed to prevent it from washing downstream into the Passaic River while helping to beautify one of our local parks.”
In addition to collecting multiple garbage bags full of bottles, cans, and plastic bags, our volunteers pulled out several heavier, larger items, some of which were decades old. In addition to aluminum cans, glass and plastic, a substantial amount of metal scrap was sent to Summit’s Transfer Station to be recycled.
Volunteers of all ages, including young children, showed up to help. “The Summit Conservancy organizes clean-ups like this periodically. We accomplished a lot and we had a lot of fun,” said Mr. Hiscano.
The Summit Conservancy, a small non-profit focused on improving the health of our town’s environment, is best known for building the Free Market Building at the Transfer Station, which has kept over 100 tons of waste from the landfill. The Conservancy sponsored Summit’s recently opened Bike Depot, which encourages commuting to the train station by bike instead of by car, as well as the Tiny Forest, a restored native habitat behind the Recreation Center. For more information, see www.summitconservancy.org.