In honor of Earth Month, Residents Forward hosted its annual Clean Green Main Street event with the Town of North Hempstead in mid-April.
Clean Green Main Street saw its largest turnout, with about 140 residents meeting at the Port Washington LIRR Station to help collect litter in the town. Students from the middle and high schools, young families, and other residents came together to help keep Port clean. The Town of North Hempstead handed out free Earth Month tee shirts and provided certificates of community service for the students.
Residents Forward provided bags, gloves and assignments to participants. Executive Director of Residents Forward Patricia Class shared that participants collected about six large contractor bags of litter from Main Street and the surrounding side streets, such as Bayles Avenue and Haven Avenue.
The event was sponsored by KISS Products, Inc., Precision Work, Inc., and Deith Distributing, all local PW businesses. KISS Products generously donated a brand-new bicycle, and everyone was offered a chance to win. Schreiber High School student Ashlyn won the bike.
“KISS Products shares the vision that Residents Forward has to reduce the number of cars on our roads and encourage sustainable transportation. So to further that vision, they generously donated the bicycle,” said Class.
Clean Green Main Street is part of Residents Forward’s overreaching campaign, “Give a Litter Bit.” In addition to the Clean Green Main Street program, Residents Forward hosts regular cleanups throughout the area, such as neighborhood cleanups in Manorhaven or in Bay Walk Park. If a local organization is having an event, they reach out to Residents Forward to help organize a clean-up to ensure the event space is free of litter.
“We oversee a cigarette butt recycling program,” said Class. “We have receptacles all over Main Street and people can drop their smoked cigarette butts in there, and then we collect them and recycle them with TerraCycle in New Jersey.”
Since starting the program in 2018, Class shared that they have recycled over 8,000 cigarette butts.
To get involved with Residents Forward, visit residentsforward.org
