On the morning of Saturday, June 1, Ridge Road became lined with vehicles. Trucks with their beds full beyond the brim with paint cans and scrap wood. There were cars with backseats and trunks full of miscellaneous electronics and broken yard equipment, and some towing behind them loads of old mattresses, tires, and giant tube televisions, all queued up for the Nederland 2024 Town Clean-Up Day.

Every year the Nederland Parks, Streets, and Utilities Departments join forces with volunteers from Town staff and the Nederland Fire Protection District, as well as from the Town’s many advisory boards, to host the event, which provides expanded recycling options to residents to help keep our mountain town clean and green.

Parks Department Director and Interim Town Administrator Nicki Dunn led and organized the event. Dunn roused volunteers with a speech about safety before opening the gates, preparing everyone for the “controlled chaos” that was to ensue.

But despite Dunn’s lighthearted warning, this year’s Town Clean-Up Day went smoothly and without incident. Many volunteers noted that the event was well-organized and that residents were properly prepared in how they packed their vehicles and stacked their garbage.

Town Clerk Macy Caligaris and Administrative Assistant Corrina McLeod inspected each vehicle’s load and directed residents to the several different stations for trash drop-off. General trash and larger items, like couches and other furniture, were loaded into one of six dumpsters. There were also stations specifically for the dumping of scrap metal and unpainted wood.

Several vendors were in attendance to provide speciality trash removal services, such as document shredding by Data Destruction, electronics waste by I.T. Refresh, and the collection of hazardous materials by Eco-Cycle. Boulder-based nonprofit Resource Central was also in attendance to collect “trash” to be upcycled and reused.

And, as has become tradition for this yearly event, Homes by Jackie Jones supplied donuts and coffee for the volunteers. They also walked down the line of parked vehicles on Ridge Road handing out donuts to all those who were patiently waiting.

Last year’s clean-up set a new record, as the dumpsters for general trash were completely filled after just over an hour and a half into the event; the vendors for specialty recycling reached full capacity by 10:30 a.m. This year, even with the due diligence of the Town Clean-Up Day team having secured extra dumpsters and specialty recycling vendors, all dumpsters became full by 10:30 a.m.

Thank you to Nicki Dunn and all of Town staff for organizing Nederland’s 2024 Town Clean-Up Day and for helping it run smoothly and efficiently. A special thank you to all those who participated and volunteered to help make this year’s event such a great success.