Several elected officials added their signatures to the Potomac River Watershed Trash Treaty on Thursday as part of a continuing effort to make the polluted watershed free of trash by 2013.
“This year, 39 more elected officials signed on to the Trash Treaty,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., at the second annual Potomac River Watershed Trash Summit held in Washington on Thursday. “It is important to get all elected officials … to accomplish this goal.”
Van Hollen, also the chair of the advisory council for the Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative, stressed that trash was the most visible sign of neglect to the area.
Twenty bicycles, six televisions, two toilets and 2,649 tires were just some of the items found during the 19th Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, according to a summary of trash data provided by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.
More than 8,000 people volunteered to clean the Potomac River Watershed covering at least 400 different sites along the river.
“We keep getting more people volunteering,” Gregory Scott said. “Each year, the number progresses.”
In all, 3 million pounds of trash were picked up in the last 19 years in the watershed area, Scott said, communications coordinator with the foundation.
“By our 25th cleanup, we want to stop doing cleanings,” Scott said. “We decided on the year 2013 because it would be the 25th year of cleaning up the watershed.”
