On Saturday, April 26th, volunteers showed up to the Hommocks Conservation Area to collect over 25 bags of litter and recyclables from the surrounding area.
Armed with plastic bags and gloves the volunteers, who were comprised mostly of students from Iona College’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, set out for two hours to cover the 10.6 acre plot of land to collect waste. The most infested area was the marsh coast, which acts as a net for garbage that gets brought in from the Monroe Inlet when the tide rescinds.
Volunteers who had come from the local Wal-Mart supplied the event with protein bars and water. A modest 35 people showed up to help out the cause, which drew praise from the Town Supervisor for Mamaroneck Nancy Seligson and her team for being the best one in years.
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“We’re thankful to the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity of Iona and volunteers from the community who came out in full force today to help collect all of this garbage and help clean up. We got a lot of trash and recycling and it makes our marsh clean, it helps the neighborhood and it really helps the environment.” She said.
A majority of the garbage collected were beer bottles and drug paraphernalia, which is alarming for a place that is located behind a park. In total about 15 bags of recyclables were designated for beer cans and bottles that had gotten stuck in the marsh, with more garbage bags going to the paraphernalia and beer boxes. Some of the other out of place items that were found was fence posts, tires, paint buckets, and the remnants of a sofa.
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Also among the refuse were dozens of plastic discs from the sewage treatment plant in Mamaroneck that had a malfunction three years ago. The discs escaped when heavy rains caused one of the plant’s tanks to clog and reversed the flow of water, releasing them into the Long Island Sound. At the peak of the disc infestation county workers were able to recover about 40% of the lost discs, although it is almost impossible to have found every single one.
The conservation area was also able to show off the new boardwalks and bridge that had been recently put in to replace the old, rotting structures. These new ones allowed for families to cycle through the area and enjoy a breathtaking view of the local scenery on a glorious Saturday afternoon.
