Glen Ridge works together to clean Toney’s Brook

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GLEN RIDGE, NJ — Borough residents, Girl Scout Cadets from Troop No. 20472 and New Jersey Institute of Technology students pulled on their wading boots and rubber gloves Saturday, Oct. 22, for the semiannual Glen Ridge cleanup of Toney’s Brook. The watery morning, attracting about 20 volunteers, was sponsored by Clean Ocean Action, a national nonprofit organization protecting waterways. As usual, most of the day’s action for the statewide event happened along the Jersey Shore, with ecologically minded Glen Ridge one of the few landlocked communities involved.

The Glen Ridge effort was again coordinated by retired borough administrator Michael Rohal, who provided volunteers with equipment and data cards to be filled out. These COA cards categorized the detritus: plastic, foam plastic, personal protective equipment, balloons and rubber, metal, paper, cloth, wood, and glass. By the end of the morning, many items were removed from Toney’s Brook. They were separated into recyclables and nonrecyclables, and placed into bags for borough public works employees to remove the following day.

Photos by Daniel Jackovino