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By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
If anyone understands the need to eliminate plastic it would be Martha Vermeulen.
As one of the organizers of the Friends of the Buck Creek Annual Clean Up, which took place in August, Vermeulen and the team have pulled out lots of plastic along with styrofoam and tires out of the river.
“We estimate we pull about a half ton of trash out of the creek every year,” Vermeulen said.
Unfortunately, plastic, styrofoam, and tires are not the only items the volunteers have found. In the past there have been a dryer, partial dishwasher, drums of mysterious liquids, and tennis balls.
“Lots of balls seem to make it in the river,” Vermeulen said. “This year’s most unusual item was a volunteer thought there was a body in the water as it was floating face down. It turned out to be a doll.”
First started by Trout Unlimited, the clean up has been taking place about seven years. The group primarily focuses on the Buck Creek in the Grandville and Wyoming area, selecting about seven sites along the river with a mix of brand new and repeat locations.
And while every year it can seem frustrating on the amount of trash removed, the positive is the number of people who come out each year to help with the clean up.
“We had more than 100 people come out this year,” Vermeulen said. “The better benefit is having people come out and see what is in the river. What our throwaway society does to our watershed.
“Hopefully they begin to reuse things more. Maybe they say this is the year I get that water filter and refill a stainless water bottle.”
The Buck Creek, which is one of the few cold water creeks that runs through a municipality, empties into the Grand River, which the West Michigan Environmental Action Council’s 16th Annual Mayor’s Grand River Cleanup is set for Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event starts at the 6th Street Park in Grand Rapids. Refreshments before the event and a light lunch after with a beverage garden (must be 21 or old with ID) will be hosted by Founders Brewery and Cascade Blonde.
