Carry in, carry out policy in Portsmouth: So far, so good

No reports of significant trash problems on Park Avenue after barrels removed

By Jim McGaw
Posted 8/20/19

PORTSMOUTH — Now that the town’s “carry in, carry out” pilot program along Park Avenue has been activated, officials are waiting to see if the new policy will be …

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Carry in, carry out policy in Portsmouth: So far, so good

No reports of significant trash problems on Park Avenue after barrels removed

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Now that the town’s “carry in, carry out” pilot program along Park Avenue has been activated, officials are waiting to see if the new policy will be effective in curbing the littering problem in Island Park.

There are already encouraging signs that the policy, with a little help from some friends, could work.

On Aug. 13 the Town Council voted to direct the town’s Department of Public Works (DPW) to remove six trash barrels along Park Avenue and install signs announcing that the beaches and sidewalks are under a strict “carry in, carry out” policy.

DPW Director Brian Woodhead said three such signs were installed on Friday, Aug. 16. Each sign reads, “Only You Can Keep Our Shoreline Clean — Please take all your trash home with you.” There are also similar messages in both Spanish and Portuguese, along with an anti-littering symbol and the Town of Portsmouth’s seal.

The idea of battling litterbugs by doing away with trash barrels — rather than providing more of them — was criticized by some readers on The Portsmouth Times’ Facebook page

• “How about MORE trash cans with MORE REGULAR emptying?!”

• “Come on. 80 percent of the cars parked along the beach are from Mass. Do you think they care?” 

• “If the barrels are gone, the choice is taking it home or throwing it on the beach, and many will pick throwing it on the beach.”

The town’s reasoning was explained by Town Administrator Richard Rainer, Jr. at the Aug. 13 meeting.

“You put a barrel out, it’s a magnet for trash,” the administrator said, noting that people use the receptacles to dump trash that isn’t necessarily generated at their place of visit, such as a beach or park. Mr. Rainer said the problem is getting worse due to the rising costs of trash disposal.

Although it’s too early to say how effective the new policy will be, there’s been no evidence of excessive trash left behind since the barrels went away. Early Sunday evening, after most of the beach crowd had left for home, the beach and sidewalk along Park Avenue looked relatively clean. 

“I went down there Saturday morning around 5 o’clock. There was one beer can in the roadway and an ice cream cup,” said Mr. Woodhead.

He returned Sunday morning to find nothing but a coffee cup on the beach. The DPW deputy director returned Sunday afternoon “and there was nothing there,” Mr. Woodhead said.

On Monday morning, he did find a garbage bag full of trash near Teddy’s Beach further north. “It looked like someone had a party on Teddy’s Beach,” he said.

The R.I. Department of Environmental Management is in charge of that beach and has its own “carry in, carry out” sign posted there, Mr. Woodhead said.

For the most part, the area has looked clean since the barrels were removed, Mr. Woodhead said. “I think it’s going to work out,” he said.

Help from volunteers

There has been an increasing number of neighbors pitching in to help keep the area free from debris, however.

“I do think some of the people in the area walk in and pick up the little bit of litter that is there,” said Mr. Woodhead.

On Sunday and Monday, the Island Park Preservation Society posted photos on its Facebook page showing small amounts of trash that volunteers had picked up, including a great deal of cigarette butts. It’s unknown how long the trash had sat there.

“I’ve noticed that more and more people who live in Island Park and along Park Avenue, who recognize the scenic view from that spot, are being active,” said local resident John Vitkevich, who initially complained to the council about the trash problem on Aug. 13.

Mr. Vitkevich, a member of the Island Park Preservation Society, said he hopes to organize a cleanup of Island Park sometime this fall.

“I just wish I could find something that picked up cigarette butts,” he said. “I think cigarettes should be $20 a pack.”

Barrels were MIA

DPW workers received a surprise Friday morning when they went to remove the barrels — they were already gone.

Apparently, an Island Park resident picked them up before town workers got there. Later on, he admitted he had taken the receptacles and dropped them off at the DPW garage. No charges were pressed against him.

“He thought he was doing a good deed,” Mr. Woodhead said. “I really don’t know what he was thinking, but no harm, no foul.”

Portsmouth Town Council, Park Avenue, Island Park

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