Claverack Dems held annual road cleanup for Earth Day

April 24, 2025 | Register-Star Page: 3 | Section: Local/State/National

The Claverack Democratic Committee held their fifth annual Earth Day Adopt-A- Highway road cleanup on Friday, April 18. Ten volunteers, working in two teams, collected 25 bags of trash along the designated section of Route 23 from Won Dharma to Van Wyck Lane. This year's Earth Day theme was Our Power, Our Planet.

"What a great way to spend a few hours on a beautiful Spring morning: meeting neighbors, doing something good for the community (and the planet!), and getting in a bunch of extra steps," annual volunteer Becky Stowe said.

Donning orange safety vests, hard hats, and work gloves, and armed with long handled easy reach grabbers, and orange trash bags supplied by the New York State Department of Transportation, volunteers collected cans, glass, plastic bottles, vaping cartridges, single serve alcoholic beverage nips, fast food containers, and larger pieces of metal debris along both sides of the road. An alarming amount of plastic bags and packaging materials, already disintegrated into small shreds that pollute our creeks where many residents fish, is not only unsightly but is also an environmental hazard.

"The Claverack Democrats are proud to perform the annual spring and fall cleanup, making our town more attractive, environmentally safe, and cleaner for residents and travelers along the two mile stretch of Route 23," Claverack Town Chair Stephanie Sussman said.

All volunteers received mandatory annual safety training before starting the cleanup. New York State Department of Transportation Coordinator Billy First greeted the volunteers and was thrilled to see such a large group.

"Perfect weather, smiles and laughter, empty bags filled, and a country mile cleaned make for a nice earth day memory," annual volunteer Richard Bazelow said.

The volunteers also expressed gratitude towards the drivers that saw them in their orange vests and hard hats along some of the narrow shoulders of Route 23 and were kind enough to slow down. The drivers helped keep the volunteers safe while they were trying to keep our community safe.

"Getting out there and resetting the dial to zero is therapeutic," Jon Williams, who enjoyed his first highway cleanup said. "You can only hope that fewer people will choose to litter when they see a clean roadside."