Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  A line of pickups, SUVs, station wagons pulling trailers and sedans packed to the ceiling with stuff stretched from the Nederland Public Works Center on Ridge Road almost to the Peak to Peak Highway. It was 7 a.m. on Saturday June 4, 2016, and although the Nederland Town Cleanup did not open for another half hour, locals have learned that the early bird gets access to the dumpsters before it’s too late.

By 10 a.m. the bird had gotten the worm, the dumpsters were filled and only a few stragglers with electronics or tires were allowed to drop off their stuff.

Nederland Town Administrator Alisha Reis said she thought it was the biggest turnout she had seen and because of the large team of town employees and volunteers, everything went smoothly.

As vehicles drove into the entrance, they had to show local identification and then they were directed to the appropriate station. There were large trucks waiting to load mattresses, electronics, used paint to be recycled, and tires.

Keith Larsen had a one-man station where he collected bicycles to be renovated and sold or given away; his personal hobby and passion. He found one with tall handlebars that he thought, with a little fixing up, might even be perfect for him.

Dallas Master poured used oil into a large container to be disposed of. Neon vested volunteers helped people unload their broken furniture, falling apart dog houses, doors, plastic pools, shredded tarps, chicken wire and all kinds of detritus left behind by the melting snow.

The cleanup used to be free. Nobody seemed to mind the $10 charge for bringing the unsightly mounds of clean up. The fee was double for filled vehicles pulling trailers.

At least 100 people in their various vehicles went through the line in about two hours, filling the seven roll off dumpsters, the scrap metal container, the oil and antifreeze containers and the batteries. So much in such a short time.

The Nederland Public Works team did an extremely efficient job of pointing vehicles in the right direction and assisting them in unloading and making way for the next in line.

Nederland’s annual town clean-up is one of the more popular town efforts, giving everyone a chance to scour their property and get rid of junk, some of which was grabbed by others who saw a silk purse in a sow’s ear.