RUMFORD — The sixth River Valley Community Cleanup is planned for Earth Day, April 20, from 8 a.m. to noon.
Neighbors and friends in the River Valley will work together, block by block, picking up litter from roadsides.
Last year, an estimated 60 cubic yards of trash was collected by more than 150 volunteers along the Route 2 corridor and streets in Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield.
This grassroots environmental initiative, sponsored by local businesses and organizations, is led by Cleanup Committee members Lisa Arsenault, Tom Bourret, Glenn Gordon and Laurie “Mink” Woodhead.
The cleanup has brought together a cross section of people picking up litter along main roadways and areas along the Androscoggin River. It has drawn hundreds of people over the past few years .
Online registrations close April 14. To sign up go to www.volunteersignup.org/W9RED to select a designated work area and receive a T-shirt. Those signing up April 20 will have additional areas assigned at the Mexico Town Office, 134 Main St., starting at 8 a.m.
Sponsors will provide gloves, trash bags and supplies behind the Mexico and Dixfield town offices from 8-10 a.m. April 20, or people may bring their own.
Volunteers are asked to dress for the weather and wear bright colors or a safety vest. To alert passing motorists , there will be a police presence, with vehicles from parks and public works with lights on.
Archie’s Inc. is donating roll-off trash containers located behind the Mexico Town Office, on River Street in downtown Rumford, and behind the Dixfield Town Office.
Bourret said people don’t have to sign up to participate. Those who gather trash on their own and are unable to transport it to one of these locations can arrange for pickup by calling Glenn Gordon at 207-418-2946.
After the cleanup, a cookout will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rumford Fire Department with music by Moon-Star DJ & Karaoke.
Volunteers will receive a gift card for a free ice cream cone at Frosty Delite in Mexico.
Among the groups forming a team are Union 900, the River Valley Rotary Club and Oxford County Mental Health.
The organizers, who began holding cleanups in 2018, are looking to hand it off to a community group or organization, Bourret said.
For more information, check River Valley Community Cleanup on Facebook, or contact Tom Bourret at 207-357-8881, or Glenn Gordon at 207-418-2946.
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