Sherborn litter cleanup a big success

You may have noticed three big letters at “the split” spelling W H Y. A good question to ask when you see litter along the roadside. Why did someone throw a can or bottle out of their car window rather than bringing it home to dispose of correctly?

For years, I’ve picked up trash along the road near my house every spring and asked myself that question. This April, three Sherborn women spearheaded Sherborn Picks Up to tackle the problem head-on. With their inspiration, and three big letters to fill up, more than 150 volunteers, including many families, picked up more than 300 bags of litter from Sherborn roadsides, wetland, open spaces, and recreational areas.

Said the organizers: While our month of cleanup has come to an end, we hope that the SherbornPicksUp movement will continue. Many people have reached out and told us that they never noticed the trash before, that they see it everywhere now, and that that they will now always be bringing a bag along to grab some trash when they go out for a walk, run, bike, or hike! From the Pine Hill-er who ran a lemonade stand to raise money to “help with trash in Sherborn” to the stalwart residents who braved 30-degree rainy weather to pick up litter - it seems clear that we have a community here in Sherborn that cares about the environment. We know that some residents have been picking up trash steadily for years, every day – and we know many new residents will now join them in the effort!

Thank you to Kim Chester, Addie Mae Weiss and Catherine Roccio for their leadership!

Mark your calendar for the next town-wide pickup over Thanksgiving weekend. In the meantime, let’s keep picking up litter whenever we see it.