Adopt a Spot
Environmental Commission
Adopt-A-Spot
CUB PACK 224 ADOPTS VETERANS PARK
Emily Raphel , new Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 224 Riley School, has signed a new agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association to remove litter from Veterans Park. The park offers various amenities: a picnic area, playground, basketball, softball and soccer fields; so, there is something going on there in most seasons. And in New Jersey it seems that when people congregate for nearly any purpose, they leave litter in their wake.
As many as twenty cub scouts and adults will walk the park on the first Sunday of each month. They will survey the grounds and equipment for any needed repairs, and notify the Recreation Department. They will remove litter, recyclables and trash from the woods line, grounds and parking lot. The park lies between the Cedar Brook and the Bound Brook, so litter removal is especially important to prevent floatables from washing into the streams. Plastic pollution in streams and lakes damages the aquatic environment. Litter carried downstream can end up in the ocean, threatening wildlife.
Veterans Park is part of the civic center of the Borough, adjacent to the Senior Center and the Fireman’s Memorial. CBA President Joe Diegnan is happy to have this Spot included in the network of adoptions in this area. If many groups each take responsibility for a small segment of the Borough, the town stays a clean, attractive place to live and work with less cost to the taxpayer.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com . 
NU XI OMEGA CHAPTER OF AKA SORORITY ADOPTS PUTNAM PARK
(South Plainfield, August 31.) Ms. Tanya Clifton-White, Environmental Ownership Chairman of the Nu Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., has signed an agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association to adopt Putnam Park for one year. Ten or more people will collect litter and vegetative debris from the grounds. The group is also prepared to clean playground equipment, paint structures when needed and plant flowers and trees. The agreement is for quarterly cleanups.
Nu Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is a graduate chapter dedicated to upholding the standards of its parent organization, which was founded in 1908 at Howard University by nine students and now has 290,000 members. Nu Xi Omega has served Somerset and Middlesex Counties since 1980. Its members range from recent college graduates to those with more than 50 years of dedicated service. In 2001 Nu Xi Omega established P.E.A.R.L.S. Inc. (Pursue Education and Really Learn Something), the charitable arm of the organization that provides scholarships to local high school students and benefits the community through global community outreach initiatives in educational enrichment, health promotion, family strengthening, environmental ownership and global impact.
A key part of the Environmental Ownership target is “Restore, Refresh and Renew,” and South Plainfield’s Adopt-a-Spot program is a perfect fit. The goal of the initiative is for local chapters such as Nu Xi Omega to adopt a playground to improve within their community. The target is 1,908 playgrounds globally.
CBA President Joe Diegnan is happy to have Putnam Park find a Sponsor again, as it has been on its own since the Pilgrim Covenant Church had to give it up some years ago. This park, situated adjacent to two large shopping centers, is subject to a constant input of wind-blown trash from outside its fences in addition to the litter from those using the park.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
CEDARCROFT BIBLE CHAPEL RENEWS ADOPT-A-SPOT CONTRACT
(South Plainfield, April 1.) Mr. Russell Innes, Trustee President at the Cedarcroft Bible Chapel, recently renewed the Church’s Adopt-A-Spot agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association for the coming two years. A crew of one or two people will continue to clean debris and litter from Cedarbrook Avenue at the stream crossing, every other month.
Cedarcroft Bible Chapel first joined the CBA’s Adopt-A-Spot program in 2012, sharing the spot with the Roseo Family, which has been doing quarterly cleanups there since 2005. The Chapel is nearby, on Kenyon Avenue. Mr. Innes said his group noticed that as soon as the road is cleaned, litter begins to accumulate again, and they thought more frequent cleanups would be helpful. The bridge crosses the Cedar Brook where it flows out of the Middlesex Water Company property and into Spring Lake Park. The wooded property attracts a lot of litter and trash, so consistent cleanups are necessary to prevent the area from turning into a dump site.
The CBA is looking for more adopters for roadsides and open space locations. The length of Metuchen Road from Harmich Road to the Edison border is available for adoption.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
Stillman Photography Services Renews Adopt-A-Spot Contract for Cedar Brook
Mr. Tom Stillman has renewed his company’s Adopt-A-Spot agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association for the next two years. He will continue to clean debris and litter from the Cedar Brook stream corridor where it runs between Monument Park and the Fireman’s Memorial.
The Stillmans have been maintaining this spot for ten years. In 2007, the site had been collecting litter for years. A gyre of trapped floatables was carpeting the stream surface, creating an eyesore between the two beautifully landscaped memorial parks. Now that this has been cleaned up, Mr. Stillman finds that it is easy to keep up with the input, and only a few cleanups each year are enough to keep the area looking good. The large rafts of litter, which can break free and travel downstream as far as New Market Pond, no longer accumulate.
The CBA is looking for more adopters for open space locations. The vacant land between Garfield and Wooden Avenues and the Oak Tree Open Space Parcel are available for adoption.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
REPUBLIC SERVICES RENEWS ADOPTION OF METUCHEN ROAD SEGMENT
(South Plainfield, June 13.) Division Manager Kevin Schaffer, on behalf of Republic Services d/b/a Midco Waste, has renewed Midco’s Adopt-A-Spot agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association. The adopted roadside stretches from their transfer station’s Harmich Road frontage to the intersection of Metuchen Road and Belmont Avenue. A rotating crew of fifteen to twenty people removes roadside litter weekly throughout the year. During the growing season, a landscaping crew cuts the roadside grass once a month.
Metuchen Road is legendary in the Borough as an illegal dumping ground. The road was paved some years back. The increase in traffic combined with frequent patrols have reduced the dumping problem considerably. Litter, however, is chronic, especially at the very busy Belmont Avenue intersection. This is part of an official truck route. Also, even though the Republic Services trucks are covered, trash does occasionally fall out along the way.
Republic Services/Midco Waste is involved in the South Plainfield community. In addition to the residential business, they handle solid waste disposal and recycling for hundreds of businesses in town. Until the Borough rejoined the Middlesex County recycling program this spring, Republic Services handled the recyclables collected at the Mary B. Mazepa Recycling Center on Kenneth Avenue. The CBA is glad to have them in the Adopt-A-Spot program.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
CONE FAMILY RENEWS ADOPT-A-SPOT CONTRACT
(South Plainfield, May 26.) Ms. Doreen Cone has renewed her Adopt-A-Spot agreement with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association for the coming year. She and her stepson will continue to do weekly litter cleanups along Belmont Avenue stream crossing, between Metuchen Road and the Department of Public Works yard.
This roadway is subjected to heavy truck traffic, including garbage trucks, so it has a constant input of litter. Ms. Cone feels that it is important to keep the litter picked up to stop it from washing into the stream, where it can harm wildlife and reduce water quality.
The CBA is looking for more adopters for roadsides. Hamilton Boulevard, Church Street, South Plainfield Avenue and Oak Tree Avenue all attract litter. Another street that needs attention is the stretch of Plainfield Avenue between Sampton Avenue and the Middle School. For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
PENDER AND MOORE FAMILIES RENEW ADOPTION OF PAL BUILDING AND HIGHLAND WOODS NATURE RESERVE
(South Plainfield, May 16.) The Pender and Moore Families are renewing their Adopt-A-Spot contracts with the South Plainfield Clean Business Association.. They will remove litter from the PAL Building and Community Pool grounds, and from the Highland Woods Environmental Education Reserve, for the next two years. Ms. Pender will check these sites twice a week to see if they need work. As many as eight family members will clean the PAL and Community Pool parking lots, and the area behind the Pool building, including the wooded area in back. The Highland Woods Nature Reserve is a 35-acre wooded area which has also recently been adopted by Cub Pack 207. The family will continue clearing litter from along the trail system as well as the area around the Nature Center on Sylvania Place.
Ms. Diane Pender has involved her family in this Clean Communities enterprise for over ten years. They also have taken responsibility for litter removal from the Willow Park area behind borough hall, and they participate every year in the spring Volunteer Litter Cleanup Week. Ms. Pender has said she and her family have enjoyed many hours of recreational activity in these areas. They feel a great deal of pride in being South Plainfielders, and appreciate the opportunity to give back to the community.
The CBA is looking for more adopters for open space areas. The Oak Tree Open Space parcel and the Belmont Avenue Open Space at Spruce Street are available for adoption.
For more information about the Adopt-A-Spot program, contact the Clean Communities Coordinator at (908) 226-7621 or e-mail atempel@southplainfieldnj.com .
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