Successful 2nd Annual Tour de Trash!

On behalf of the staff and Trustees of the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT), the Town Conservation Department, and the Tour de Trash Committee, thank you for volunteering your time to support Harwich’s 2nd annual ‘Tour de Trash’ town-wide spring clean-up!

75 Volunteers fanned out across town on Saturday, April 30th to remove 440 pounds of trash and about an equal volume of recycling from our roadsides!  The majority of trash items were cigarette butts and nips (especially Fireball).  There were also many returnable/ recyclable bottles.  Of the unfortunate things we found were 14 used hypodermic needles and 2 used smoke grenades.

Some of the sites that were cleaned up include:  East Harwich Four Corners (Rts. 137 & 39), Community Garden, Red River Beach, Bank Street Beach, and portions of Route 39.  The Tour de Trash Committee hopes this event inspired a sense of stewardship for our environment, and encourages all residents to clean up local neighborhoods, parks, and beaches whenever possible.  Over time, volunteer efforts can help to minimize the amount of roadside litter.

The Tour de Trash Committee thanks all of its partners, including Harwich DPW, Fire, and Police, and all its sponsors including True Value Hardware, Shaw’s Market, and Nauset Disposal.  They especially thank the East Harwich Stop & Shop for providing lunch to all of the volunteers!

The Tour de Trash Committee learned a lot after two years of organizing this event, and thanks the community for patience and support.  In terms of feedback, registration was much improved from last year.  The event will continue to be refined and streamlined for next year.  In the meantime, please fill out the feedback survey that will be emailed to participants.  If you have any other comments, please feel free to reach out to HCT.

Hopefully, this movement continues, especially with other Towns on the Cape.  However, the goal is to have people be responsible for their own trash/ recycling, and—eventually— for this event to become phased out.

If you have any other feedback or would like to join HCT’s email or volunteer list, please contact HCT Land Stewardship Coordinator Matt Cannon hctmattcannon@gmail.com.

Thank you all for participating!