ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A volunteer spent six hours cleaning up Durand Eastman Beach after July 4th weekend and found more trash than he’s ever seen before.
Kenneth Stasiw regularly picks up litter at the beach during busy holiday weekends, but this year’s mess was unlike anything he’s encountered. News10NBC’s Adelisa Badzic spoke with Stasiw about what he found.
“This year, I believe it was a lot worse,” Stasiw said. “And it was more the fact that people left behind grills, they left behind dining room tables and chairs and a menagerie of large objects that I just couldn’t handle myself.”
Stasiw filled at least 30 bags with garbage before city crews arrived to clean the rest. His video showed the piles of trash left behind, including a half-full ketchup bottle.
Stasiw is a Rochester native who grew up on the west side. He said he goes out to clean the beach a couple times a year, especially around 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day.
“I just try to be out there as much as I can and try to make a good first impression,” Stasiw said.
He said keeping public spaces clean is about taking pride in the community.
“If I could just take that amount of work and condense it down just a little bit to make the load on the city workers and the town a little bit more, less hectic, I think that is going to make a huge difference in our community,” Stasiw said.
Stasiw hopes his cleanup effort encourages people to take more responsibility for their trash.
“Stop littering,” Stasiw said. “This is an inclusive problem. And this is not targeted toward a specific group of people. This is an inclusive problem. It affects everybody. This is not just your problem and it’s not just my problem. It’s everybody’s problem. The community’s problem. And if the community doesn’t step up and own up to their accountability, where do we go from here? It’s going to get worse.”
A recent study from Keep America Beautiful says people typically hold onto garbage for an average of 25 to 30 feet before littering. The littering rate drops significantly to just 12% when a bin is within 10 feet.
Durand Eastman Beach’s rules prohibit alcohol, glass containers, drugs and illegal substances. Visitors are required to carry out all trash or put it in trash receptacles as they leave.
Stasiw plans to continue his cleanup efforts and encourages others to do the same.
The post Rochester volunteer spends 6 hours cleaning up Durand Eastman Beach after holiday weekend appeared first on WHEC.com.
