Anti-Litter

Anti-Litter Committee works to beautify village streets

By Jessica Semins

Equipped with “nifty nabbers,” gloves and garbage bags, members of Valley Stream’s Anti-Litter Committee took to the streets mid-June 2021 to help beautify the village. The Anti-Litter Committee was formed during the pandemic last year as a sub-committee of the Beautifi cation Committee. Volunteers meet monthly to identify problem areas and develop cleanup plans. The committee focuses on areas with the most trash. “It adds pride to the community to see how beautiful it really can be,” Kevin Waszak, the Beautifi cation Committee’s chair, said of the cleanup results. The committee’s efforts are having a cumulative impact. At times during cleanup sessions, volunteers will join along the way. Spurred by the committee’s cleanups, residents sometimes organize their own. During the two-hour morning cleanup in June, volunteers fi lled eight garbage bags with trash that had been tossed on the roadside, David Sabatino, the committee’s village liaison, said. The group met at Fletcher Avenue and West Merrick Road, and spread out in smaller groups as far as Hendrickson Avenue in one direction and Rockaway Avenue in the other. “We have so many streams here, and they all collect storm water,” Sabatino said, noting that each piece of litter removed from a storm drain can help improve the village’s appearance and the environment. “It’s a small impact, but it’s huge down the line.” Residents interested in joining the village’s Beautifi cation Committee or any of its subcommittees can e-mail vsbeautifi cation@gmail.com for more information.

It adds pride to the community to see how beautiful it really can be. Kevin Waszak Beautifi cation Committee chair

JEssica Semins/Herald Above photo: The anti-litter committee formed amid the pandemic.