Rozalia Project for a Clean Oceans partnership with Vermont's Department of Labor, employed 41 long term unemployed or hurricane affected people, during March through November 2012. Rozalia Projects crews removed trash and hurricane debris from waterways throughout Vermont. Trash in our waterways, has multiple dangers from ingestion, entanglement to leaching toxic chemicals into Vermont's marine environment.
Here are our figures:
310.68 miles of Vermont's waterways cleaned
503,317 pieces of trash removed
88.5 tons of trash removed
41 employees put back to work
207 volunteers helped clean up
488 clean up locations
161 exfoliant beads and resin pellets were found in one 6 by 6 sample at North Beach, Burlington
Locations Cleaned:
Burlington crews cleaned the shores of Lake Champlain and the Winooski River
Waterbury crews cleaned the Winooski and Dog Rivers
Middlebury crews cleaned the Neshobe, Tweed and White Rivers, and southern Lake Champlain
Randolph and Hartford crews cleaned along the branches and main-stems of the White River in West Braintree, Braintree, Randolph, Royalton, Hancock, Granville, Rochester, Stockbridge, Pittsfield, Bethel, West Hartford, and Hartford.
Vermont's Polluting Dirty Dozen:Thousands of the following items were removed by Rozalia Projects cleanup crews who recorded every piece of trash recovered.
Food wrappers
Cigarette butts
Exfoliant beads
Building insulation foam
Beverage bottles
Beverage cans
Glass
Plastic bags
Bottle caps
Shotgun shells
Tires
Paper/tissue
Conclusions and Recommendations for a Clean Vermont:
Rozalia Project believes that we can clean Vermont's waterways and keep them clean for future generations to enjoy. We believe that a combination of physical cleaning and modified practice will achieve Clean Water in Vermont.
Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean would like to see Vermont implement or grow the following programs.
Greater number of paired trash and recycling bins in public spaces along Vermont's waterways
Beverage bottle/can redemption program
Encourage biodegradable forms of exfoliant beads in cosmetics, face and body washes
Physical screening to stop exfoliant beads entering our waterways
Increased fines for dumping of trash
Education program at elementary school level, to the dangers of trash and how to dispose of trash and recycle responsibly
Tire recycling program
Single stream recycling
Hunter education
This program was made possible thanks to partnership with the VT Dept. of Labor and support from the Vermont Community Foundation, Waterwheel Foundation, Ben and Jerrys Community Actions Teams, Pomerleau Real Estate and dozens of nonprofit organizations, towns and individuals working very hard to make VT a better place than before the Hurricane.
About Rozalia Project:Rozalia Project is a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to find and remove marine debris, from the surface to the seafloor, through action, technology, outreach and research. Rozalia Project operates in Vermont as well as the New England Coast from their research sailing vessel, American Promise, and in locations throughout the US cleaning up running education programs and conducting research.