The Cleanup wrapup – looking good!

Thanks, Girl Scouts!

I love it that there are people like Stephanie (she works at Harrison House/Tucker House) who think up ideas like The Great Island Cleanup & then make them happen – it’s people like her who make this a great place to live! Thank you, Stephanie!

She filed this report about how it all turned out:

Hi Ian,

As I am finishing up the final documentation on the Great Island Clean-up, it occurred to me that you might like to hear some of the “trash tidbits” that didn’t get released.

You probably heard that we had over 200 volunteers who picked up over 5,000 pounds of litter on the island.  What people may not know is some of the interesting details on this litter.  For example,

• the litter that was collected on Beaverton Valley Road alone took over two and a half full, standard-bed pick-up loads
• there were 44 bags of trash collected in the Town of Friday Harbor alone
• some of the volunteers kept track of the alcohol cans and bottles they collected; these comprised most of the litter picked up on the county roads.  On San Juan Valley Road alone, over 475 beer bottles and cans were picked up
• the most ironic find was a bag of Organic Kelp Meal wrapped up in a ball of kelp on one of the beaches
• the largest find was a range hood on Bailer Hill Road
• the most unusual find was a military smoke marker, unexploded and shaped just like a bullet, on Grandma’s Cove
• some of the interesting finds were a pair of motorcycle chaps, a coconut shell, scissors, toothbrushes, a wooden baseball bat, an antique wine bottle, a bed pillow, welcome mats, a cabinet door, many car parts, and a nest of garter snakes (though of course they wouldn’t quality as litter, though they sure would startle you!)
• some of the clever volunteers from The Cutthroats had saved large dog food bags to use for collecting litter in place of large plastic garbage bags

All in all, we were heartened by the tremendous response by volunteers, and are pleased at how “light” the island looks without all the cans, bottles, papers, and plastics rolling around on the roads and beaches.  Now that we’ve gotten the island looking pristine again, we encourage ALL islanders to pick up litter when they see it.  It’s so much easier to just stop and pick up a can or two here and there, rather than trying to clear away mountains of litter.

Many of the volunteers have expressed an interest in making the Great Island Clean-Up a twice-a-year event, and some of the organizing committee is backs this idea as well.  If any of your readers are interested in participating in the organizational aspect of another clean-up, please contact me (Stephanie (at) tuckerhouse.com) and I’ll put you in touch with the rest of the group.  I personally will not be able to head a Great Island Clean-Up for Fall, because we’re heading into our busy season at the inns, and I will not have time to devote to a project of this magnitude.  However, I would love to see another volunteer pick up the banner and run with it, and I will give all the support and direction I can.

Lastly, Ian, I would like to once again thank all the volunteers and businesses who supported this project.  What a magnificent effort!

Sweet Eats and Savory Thymes,

Stephanie Prima-Sarantopulos
Great Island Clean-Up Instigator

Ross (left), Lincoln & Rik found a lot to pick up at Third Lagoon! Thanks, you guys!

You can support the San Juan Update by doing business with our loyal advertisers, and by making a one-time contribution or a recurring donation.