Whitney Center Seniors Pick Up Litter on Treadwell Street

From the Whitney Center:

HAMDEN, CT – A group of Whitney Center residents took matters into their own hands Friday to clean up their neighborhood by picking up litter on Treadwell Street.

Four residents who live at Whitney Center, a senior-living community located on Leeder Hill Drive, decided they were tired of seeing the trash and debris that had been accumulating along Treadwell Street and they wanted to do something about it. Ann Hutton, who organized the effort, said the group wanted to help because it was Earth Day and because something needed to be done.

"I just called up a couple people and they were available, so we gathered our gloves and trash bags and headed out to do as much as we could," said Hutton. According to Hutton, the group filled seven trash bags in 45 minutes. She said a majority of the litter was fast-food containers and wrappers.

"I think the fast-food chains should assume more responsibility and educate people about properly disposing of their trash,' said Hutton. "They could post signs at the drive-thru [windows] and add this message to their advertisements."

Hutton said she and her husband, Jim, who also participated in the effort, always pick up trash when they walk. She said it doesn't cost anything to do it and every little bit helps. "We could have picked up bushels of cigarette butts, but we wanted to get the bigger items in the time we had," said Hutton.

Allie Poole, one of the residents who helped with the clean up, said there was just so much trash out there and they needed to clean up the neighborhood. "I wanted to participate in the hopes that if people see it cleaned up then maybe they will stop throwing trash out of their cars," said Poole.

Hutton said she feels it is important to teach children not to litter and she would like to see more education about conservation and Earth Day in schools. For all their hard work, Hutton said it was disheartening to see that by Monday there was more litter back again, but she realizes it is an ongoing effort. "This is a Sisyphean task," said Hutton. "But [picking up litter] is an easy thing to do and everyone can help to make a difference."