Greenport Village Unites To Clean Up Litter 'One Bag At A Time'

GREENPORT, NY — It takes a village — especially when it comes to addressing the litter problem in Greenport.

One resident's desire to address the litter she saw piling up around the community has sparked a mission for change.

On the Facebook page, "Let's Talk Village of Greenport," Mindy Ryan, who kicked off the project, and Greenport Village Trustee Mary Bess Phillips have invited residents to grab a bag and pitch in.

"Good morning neighbors! What a great day to join our ongoing Village clean up project. The 'One Bag At A Time Project' is an ongoing, year round event. You can help out by collecting a small bag of litter from our streets/sidewalks/planters/bushes/beaches once a week, or more. Help build momentum for our project by posting a photo of your findings on our event page here," Ryan wrote.

"Please recycle what you can, put the rest in with your yellow bag trash, or simply place your findings in a village trash receptacle. Also, artist Cindy Pease Roe Studio & Gallery is accepting plastic pieces for upcoming projects."

The name "One Bag At A Time" comes from Ryan's non-profit "One Puppy At A Time", which, she said, "is now on hiatus after five years and rescuing 47 dogs. My friends know the back story, so 'One Bag At A Time' was a natural."

In an interview with Patch, Ryan spoke candidly about what prompted her to begin tackling the litter issue, one bag at a time.

"I was raised to not litter and in fact my dad took us out on 'pollution patrols,'" she said. "He would drive the tractor with the cart behind and we would cover several miles of the neighborhood a couple times a year. I continued to make an effort to pick up litter that was convenient to pick up and dispose of for the next 40 years."

She added, "When my husband Jim and I moved full time to Front Street in the Village, from Laurel —my daughter is an Mattituck High School 2015 grad — I started doing my daily 'morning runs' all around Greenport. I put in a lot of miles. What a beautiful and safe place to run."

In 2016, she said, she did more than 1,000 miles running on the streets of Greenport.

"The amount of litter I saw on a daily basis on/in the streets/sidewalks/bushes/flower boxes, etc. was alarming," Ryan said. "I feel guilty when I see trash and don't pick it up but carrying a bag of trash around while I'm on a four-mile run is impracticable. Besides that there is just way too much for one person to pick up and carry."

One morning recently she saw a pile of trash and posted about the problem on the Facebook page, and a discussion ensued.

"Someone commented on that post, 'Did you pick it up?' I was a bit miffed," she said, adding that the problem was too widespread for one single person alone to tackle.

Ryan said she first got inspired to affect change by that litter, at the Third Street sump area by Blue Canoe.

"But in my travels, I do a loop to Sound Avenue that includes Chapel Lane. I run all the streets of the village, all the side streets, they're all just a mess and it's every day," she said.

That initial Facebook post prompted village resident Paul Kreiling to take off at lunch to go pick up what he could around that sump, she said.

"He loaded up a huge bag of trash. He did a great job. But I know that cleaning up that one area is not solving the problem. Really it will be impossible to 'solve' the problem," Ryan said. "You can't change everyone's bad habits. The amount of trash at this particular area on Third is a mostly a result of litter from in town being blown or washing down towards the ferry. Third Street between Front Street and the ferry is loaded with litter on a daily basis. Just one troubled area. Anyway, this all prompted me to do something and inspire others to do the same. So I posted the pledge."

Phillips, she said, invited Ryan for coffee to discuss her pledge; her only concern was in asking others to pick up village trash was the cost for them to dispose of it.

Ryan said she replied that 90 percent of what she picks up is recyclable, for free.

"The rest I throw in my yellow bag garbage," Ryan said. "I also suggested that anyone picking up a small bag of litter can simply throw it in a village garbage receptacle. I told Mary Bess Phillips that I thought posting pictures of our 'loot' on Facebook would help bring awareness to the problem and inspire others to join in. It's very easy for someone to say 'I'll do it' but do they really do it? Posting a picture shows what you did."

Phillips, Ryan said, "gave me her blessing to promote this and post pics on the Facebook page; the next day, a Facebook event page was created to promote year-round engagement.

"I pledged to do it once a week but to gain momentum I've been doing it every day. I've been doing a lot walking lately focusing on picking up garbage but I need to get back into my running routine. I think I will stick a grocery bag in my pocket, get my miles in and walk the last half mile, focus on an area that needs work," Ryan said.

On Monday, Ryan captured photos of plastic and straws about to blow into the waterway before she began collecting trash.

Of the pledge and project, Phillips said, "Trash is a universal issue, but we are proud of our community, this Village of Greenport. Mindy J. Ryan and others have taken on the challenge of picking up a 'one bag at a time. To keep track of our community progress, please post, photos, comments to this event page."

She added, "We need to set the example for our children and others, that as a community our Village of Greenport we are a waterfront community that takes pride in our homes, streets and local waters."

Patch photos courtesy of Mindy Ryan.