Susan Kelly, Nederland. We all know it. America is one of the leading waste-producing countries in the world.  Sadly, disposing of waste has huge environmental impacts and can cause serious health and safety problems. Therefore, it is crucial that all communities are encouraged to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste instead of overusing landfills. The Town of Nederland is well-known as being a community which takes great pride in its clean, natural, and picturesque setting. It also strives to recycle, divert, or reuse waste as much as possible. For years, Nederland has hosted Community Clean-up Day, and Saturday, August 1, 2020, was no different. 

The Clean-up Day event started officially at 8 a.m., and a queue of cars and trucks lined Ridge Road as soon as it opened. Over thirty volunteers and staff, manned the information booths and recycling stations, greeting residents and checking ID’s. The information booths included the Nederland Advisory Boards and Commissions, the Rotary Club, Victory Gardens, Wild Bear, Farmer’s Market and the Census. As usual, the transfer station was accepting appliances, cardboard, fabrics, compost, disposable gloves, hard plastic, Styrofoam, single stream, and tires. The sort yard collected grass trimmings, weeds, logs, pinecones, needles, and slash. Bedder World collected old mattresses; Shreddit provided free shredding and document destruction; Resource Central collected reusable building materials, and there was even a place to recycle old electronics. The fee for a truckload of trash was only $20.00.

Nikki Dunn, Parks and Recreation Manager for the town of Nederland, had spent months organizing the event while Miranda Fisher, Nederland’s Town Clerk, widely publicized the event. All Covis-19 protocols were followed: only one car per station and mask-wearing was mandatory. Even in the midst of a pandemic, we still need to get rid of our trash, right? But the more we can divert away from landfills, (or our front yards) the better!