Water bottles, plastic bags, soda cans, and other polluted waste populate Kinnelon forests daily.

The Kinnelon clean-up event made cleaning the Earth both entertaining and convenient. Gloves, vests, and bags were provided to those who needed them. The DPW also took various safety measures, such as professional supervision, utilizing traffic cones, and group travel. The SOSAC and Kinnelon DPW-sponsored event greatly made the town less polluted and fostered bonds amongst volunteers. 

It is estimated that 20 million metric tons of plastic waste are in the environment annually. A Kinnelon citizen who volunteered at this clean-up event believes events like this could lower these levels: “If everyone could attend these kinds of events and provide clean-up efforts, plastic pollution worldwide could be heavily reduced.”

KHS 2018 graduate Madeline Florio led the event. Going into it, Florio predicted both environmental and social benefits: “I am expecting to find a lot of interesting objects in the woods. I am also expecting to get dirty and meet cool people in the community.”

Florio decided on the location of Cakeout Road because waste accumulates from Stop and Shop, Marshalls, the food chains, and more in that area. These stores produce waste that pollutes surrounding areas, and this event aimed to clean the waste that these locations produce. 

Clean-up events offer an opportunity to cleanse the environment one forest at a time. Another Kinnelon citizen believes that an event at one forest could cause a domino effect of forest de-polluting worldwide: “These sorts of events keep the community clean and show other people that they can get involved. It’s hard to start, but once others see people doing it, the community will be inspired and lead to more clean-up efforts.”

Aside from cleaning the community and inspiring others, this clean-up event offered several opportunities for attendees. Volunteer Andrew Malko is a father to several Kinnelon students, and brought his children to this event for various reasons: “I think it’s good to give back to the community. It’s a beautiful day, and it’s nice to go out and do something. Emma (daughter) needs service hours for NJHS and wants to help the community. The little one (son) always talks about cleaning the earth, and this is the perfect place to do so.” 

Once the earth was cleaned, a pizza lunch was held to celebrate the friendships made and the waste cleaned up. A DPW employee and Kinnelon citizen participated in the event and pizza lunch and says it was the perfect way to end the day: “Eating together and sharing similar experiences or passions was truly the perfect way to end such a wonderful volunteer event.” 

The Kinnelon Clean-Up allowed people to unite and form bonds over their passion for improving the environment. To fight pollution, the community must clean and maintain Kinnelon’s array of beautiful forests. Events like this allow the Earth’s health and beauty to prosper while forging solidarity among volunteers.