Bolingbrook Residents Clean Up

While many in Bolingbrook enjoyed the beautiful weather on Saturday September 14, 2019, a small group of residents donated their time to clean up trash in several areas.

Organized primarily by Bolingbrook resident Charla Sirtoff, a precinct committee woman for DuPage Township precinct 27, the idea was simple; pick up trash that was left by others in an effort to improve the environment. "Citizens for a Beautiful Bolingbrook" volunteers were solicited primarily from a Facebook post and a Bolingbrook Public Television announcement.

When asked why she wanted to lead this effort, Ms. Sirtoff explained, “I wanted to raise awareness of the trash in our town that’s getting into ponds and creeks. The amount of recycling material such as plastic bags, bottles, milk jugs, and cups we pulled out was simply staggering. Obviously people need to properly dispose of their garbage, but it doesn’t help that some blows out of our recycling bins. I’m not a fan of our recycling program, or totters due to limited space in my garage, but we need changes in the recycling program to keep trash down and out of environmental sensitive areas. I do want to thank the Village for providing us with bags, safety vests and garbage pickers to use. Ken Enda, superintendent of public service and development for the Village of Bolingbrook was fantastic to work with.”

Adults weren’t the only volunteers who joined in the effort, Girl Scout troop #70315 helped thanks to troop leaders Robin Brown and Jaime Olson. According Ms. Olson, “the most disgusting part was pulling out numerous plastic bags of dog feces that were thrown into the grass and ponds. It’s great that people pick up after their dogs, but they need to make sure it’s properly disposed.”

Girl Scout, Natalia Giamanco, age 10, said, “It was disgusting. I don’t understand how people can do this to the environment that we live in. We could easily fix this if people would simply start throwing away their garbage where it belongs, instead of leaving it in our neighborhoods. I participated because I love the environment and I want to protect the nature that’s around us.”

Approximately 750 gallons of heavy trash were collected.

Volunteers included: Charla Sirtoff, Tom Sirtoff, Jill Olson, Sandie Zihala, Will County Board Member Jackie Traynere, Diane Kloepher, Laura Borbely, Victoria Borbely, Suresh Bhagwan, Barbara Parker, Girl Scout Troop #70315, including troop leaders Jaime Olson and Robin Brown, and Girl Scouts Natalia Giamanco, Sophia Segal, Maggie Brown, Kate Bitoy and her mom Kathy Bitoy and her brother Lance Bitoy of Boy Scout Troop 131.

The group has discussed organizing a similar effort in the spring.

For additional information, or to help with a future clean up, people are encouraged to contact Charla Sirtoff at c.sirtoff@comcast.net or 630-759-5494.