Darienites looking to improve the town's environmental well-being will have a chance to work together with like-minded residents Saturday. The Darien Chamber of Commerce is wrapping up its fourth annual Darien Goes Green event with a townwide cleanup.
The cleanup is hosted in conjunction with the Beautification Commission to sweep through Darien and pick up all the garbage littered around town. "There's no way the town employees can do this type of cleanup on their own," said chamber President Carol Wilder-Tamme. Territories in town are divided among different groups in town, such as Scouts, the Senior Men's Association, kids from the Depot and church groups, which do the work.
Wilder-Tamme said more than 225 people have signed up to help. In previous years, the groups have been extremely effective in picking up litter. "You wouldn't believe the number of cigarette butts they pick up at the train station," she said. They have also found some unusual items, such as shopping carts left in creeks and a toilet that somebody rolled down a hill.
Darienites take green behavior seriously. "We live in a town of people who are generally well educated and are aware that what we're doing today has a significant impact on the lives of our children and grandchildren," Wilder-Tamme said. However, people could be doing some things better.
"We would love to see shopping centers such as Noroton Heights and Goodwives add more recycling bins," she said. Pedestrians walking around those locations tend to throw their recyclables into trash cans, which just creates extra waste. Wilder-Tamme said the chamber has been trying to get more recycling bins added for a couple of years but said tight budgets have prevented that from becoming a reality.
Are you participating in the Darien townwide cleanup? What parts of town do you think need the most picking up? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below, on Facebook and on Twitter.
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