Beer bottles, dirty diapers ? even a car door and a kitchen sink.
Garbage has been piling up along the banks of the Tiber Hudson Stream in Ellicott City, prompting residents and students to form the Tiber Hudson Stream Clean Team.
“I think that something needs to be done,” said Jennifer Burton, a Howard Community College student and the team?s coordinator.
“People shouldn?t just be throwing trash out.”
Ellicott City, as a tourist destination, sees a lot of foot traffic, and sparse trash cans along Main Street and in its parking lots mean people tend to throw their garbage on the ground, said Betsy McMillion, coordinator for the Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway, which preserves and protects the environment, history and culture of the Patapsco River Valley.
“There is a lot of trash there,” McMillion said. “It affects the wildlife.”
County officials clean the area “every once in a while,” but more regular pickups were needed, said Ed Lilley, president of the Ellicott City Restoration Foundation, which advocates the improvement of historic city through preservation efforts.
McMillion said the garbage has been a problem for several years, but now, as a part-time employee, she has the time to dedicate to stream cleanup and volunteer coordination. Without a paid coordinator, the cleanups were not as organized, she said.
Using gloves and trash bags, Burton, 19, and from five to 10 other people gather garbage each Saturday morning before it washes into the stream.
In a recent cleanup, the group collected roughly 450 pounds of trash, Burton said.
The team started the weekend cleanups in early September and plan to continue through next month.
The Tiber team also is planning major cleanups twice a year that will include the shops in town, Lilley said.
Volunteer for Tiber Hudson Stream cleanup
» When: 9 a.m. Saturday
» Where: Historic Ellicott City, near parking lot D, behind the Main Street post office
