On Saturday, Vermonters will celebrate Green Up Day, an annual tradition in which volunteers across the state come together for some collective spring cleaning.
Starting this weekend, participants can pick up free trash bags at town-specific pickup sites, joining other residents to clean up litter from roadsides, waterways and other public outdoor spaces.
According to Green Up Vermont’s website, the annual tradition began when Robert Babcock, a Burlington Free Press reporter at the time, approached Gov. Deane Davis in 1969 about bringing Vermonters together to clean up the state’s heavily littered roadsides. On April 18, 1970, interstate highways closed from 9 a.m. to noon so that more than 70,000 volunteers could safely support their environment on the first-ever Green Up Day.
Today, Green Up Day is facilitated through Green Up Vermont. The private nonprofit is dedicated to promoting “the stewardship of our state’s natural landscape and waterways, and the livability of our communities by involving people in Green Up Day while raising public awareness about the health, economic, and visual benefits of a litter-free environment year-round,” according to the organization’s website.
As of 2020, when Green Up Vermont celebrated its 50-year anniversary, Green Up Day had facilitated removal of more than 24 million pounds of litter and 450,000 abandoned car tires from land in Vermont.
Vermonters interested in volunteering can find comprehensive resources and town-specific information on Green Up Vermont’s website, such as where to pick up free trash bags in their towns, where to drop them off when they’re full, and how to connect with their town’s Green Up Day coordinator to report data from their efforts.
Chad Kim, a student at Middlebury College and one of the town’s Green Up Day coordinators, said the job has involved corresponding with community members, the Public Works Department, the Conservation Commission and the college.
“It’s been a cool experience kind of synthesizing all these different communities,” Kim said. “Now it actually feels like it’s all coming together into a cohesive community. I’m just excited to be able to serve Middlebury in this really tangible way.”
According to Kate Alberghini, Executive Director for Green Up Vermont, more than 19,000 volunteers picked up 500 tons of trash on Green Up Day last year.
“That’s a huge amount, and that tells us that we still have a problem, whether it’s intentional littering, or (trash that blew out of a trash can) or whatever,” Alberghini said. “It’s very important to our state to clean up roadside and public space litter in part because our state is heavily dependent on tourism dollars. Not to mention that Vermonters love to get out and play in our natural landscape.”
Green Up Vermont recommends that volunteers take safety precautions during the cleanup, such as wearing bright clothing, gloves and masks; making sure to be cautious while walking near roads; and checking for ticks after returning home. Green Up Vermont also urges volunteers to tie trash bags tightly to keep litter from spilling out and offers safety guidelines in case needles are found on the ground.
According to Alberghini, Green Up Day volunteers should also make sure to steer clear of railroads while picking up trash.
“Railroad tracks are, for whatever reason, collectors of litter,” Alberghini said, “but it is illegal to walk on railroad tracks, so we ask that people don’t clean up the railways.”
Participants involved in Green Up Day can use the Green Up App to build or join teams of other volunteers, track their routes, communicate with one another, set challenges and locate trash.
For Vermonters who need a little more inspiration for getting involved, Green Up Vermont recently announced the youth winners of its annual poster, poem and jingle contests.
“Winter, spring, summer, fall, / The trash build up it’s from us all,” goes the winning jingle. “We need everyone to participate,/ before it gets way too late./ Go and get your Green Up bags and/ Green Up Vermont!”
