The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) encourages you to do two things while you’re out celebrating this weekend: recycle and scout trash.

By recycling what you can and keeping an eye out for trash while you are outdoors, you can help keep trash out of our rivers. You can report litter sites in need of clean-up volunteers to CRWC on their website at www.ctriver.org/source-to-sea-cleanup and click on ‘Report Trash Site’ or call their office at 860-704-0057. CRWC will direct volunteers to those sites during their 18th annual Source to Sea Cleanup on September 26 and 27. “If you see a trash site, note the location and what kind of debris is there, take a picture if you can, and then let us know,” says Jacqueline Talbot, CRWC River Steward and organizer of the Cleanup.

The annual Source to Sea Cleanup is a two-day trash clean-up event coordinated by CRWC in all four states of the 410+ mile Connecticut River watershed (NH, VT, MA, CT), home to more than 2.5 million people. “Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have worked hard to combat litter and illegally dumped trash,” notes Talbot. “It’s a big watershed and we rely on people to let us know about the problem spots. You are one of our best sources of information.”

Each fall, thousands of volunteers of all ages and abilities head out to clean the Connecticut River and its tributaries on foot or by boat. Volunteers remove trash along rivers, streams and stream banks, parks, boat launches, trails and more. Individuals can register now to start a clean-up group, register to work solo or join an existing group by visiting www.ctriver.org/source-to-sea-cleanup. Businesses are also encouraged to get involved by starting an employee clean-up group, making a donation of supplies such as gloves and trash bags, or by becoming an event sponsor.

In 2013, more than 2,200 volunteers pulled over 45 tons of trash from river banks and waterways in NH, VT, MA and CT. Volunteers use human power and sometimes heavy equipment to pull out everything from recyclables, fishing equipment and food waste to tires, televisions, refrigerators and junk cars. To date volunteers have prevented more than 851 tons of trash from flowing downstream.

“Lead sponsors NRG Middletown and TransCanada’s generous financial support enables us to organize the thousands of volunteers who participate in the Cleanup, and to take on complex projects that require the use of heavy equipment, scuba divers and other professionals to get those really trashed places cleaned up,” says CRWC Executive Director Andrew Fisk.

Anyone with questions or trash tips may contact CRWC’s Cleanup Coordinator Jacqueline Talbot at cleanup@ctriver.org or by calling 860-704-0057.

The Connecticut River Watershed Council works to protect the watershed from source to sea. As stewards of this heritage, we celebrate our four-state treasure and collaborate, educate, organize, restore and intervene to preserve its health for generations to come. Our work informs our vision of economic and ecological abundance.

To learn more about CRWC, or to make a contribution to help protect the Connecticut River, visit www.ctriver.org or call 413-772-2020, ext. 201.