For the second day in a row I set out for the Treichler's Bridge access. Got a late start, but I was feeling much better than at the beginning of the week. Happy to be through with the flu. The day before I noticed while walking out the D&L Trail I noticed in a small flood plain area an item that I have passed on trips to this location for over a year. I had not previously taken it out, one because it was large and two because it was wedged into a debris pile. I didn't think I would be able to remove it, yet I decided to give it a try.
From the trail yesterday there did not look to be much trash on this section of bank which is not easy to get down to. So I passed it by for more trashy river line. When I got down there it was a different story and I started finding the items obstructed from view from the trail.
Plastic lawn chairs should not exist. I feel that every one towards the end of its life makes its way down to the river and as soon as it breaks its just thrown in. I know a good wooden chair is expensive, but taken care of they last a life time. If more people could just look at the long run and not just buy the cheapest thing that only lasts a year or two, we would have a much better planet.
Special drink ice pack, a Phillies cap and baseball. These were all around the same area. The ball and cap were not found like that. I think someone might have gotten lost on the way to their baseball game.
I don't know what the original purpose was of the item on the left. I found three similar shaped pieces of varying sizes. They were all made of what looked to be fiberglass and were heavy. I would have thought they were planters, but I am left wondering. The fan cover on the right looked like it had resided in this spot for awhile. These items and a few others looked to have been tossed down from the D&L. Before the D&L Trail was put in, this was a popular site for off roading jeeps and the open dirt roads gave easy access to illegal dumpers. I have mixed feelings about these kinds of trails, in this case though, the addition of gates has helped to prevent these illegal dumping activities.
Only the top of this bottle was sticking out of the mud. I was shocked when I picked it up and it was heavy. I had to look at it for a minute to determine just what it was filled with. Silicon, someone filled this bottle with silicon and tossed it into the river. Why? Things like this baffle me.
It might not look like there is much in these debris piles, but I was able to pick out a fair amount from them. If you look closely you can see Penny tied up to the one log. She was not particularly happy that we spent so much time picking through this area. She doesn't like just standing around.
This is what I was able to remove from the debris piles. I had one particularly interesting find. A disposable underwater camera. It still had over twenty shots left on it. I am going to use the rest, get it developed and possibly see who lost it.
This was the item I set out for. Like I said, I noticed it last year. It may have been here much longer than that and who knows how long it has been in the river. Today it wasn't pinned down and I was able to dislodge it with ease.
The most difficult part of getting this back up to the trail was finding the right location to bring it up the slope. The goal in doing so is not only to get the truck bed up to the trail, but to do no damage to the saplings on the slope. I found a spot, took my time and was able to complete the goal. Then I had to make a couple trips back down to get Penny and the rest of the garbage.
With the truck bed loaded with trash it was time to drag it back to the bridge. This was noisy and I got a lot of strange looks from bikers passing by. The looks may have been for either the truck bed with trash I was dragging or the crazy barking dog I had on a leash. I will say if you are biking on the D&L and ever come across Penny and I, I apologize for my dog. Penny will bark, she will look pure evil and it is only because she does not like things with wheels. She also barks at other dogs.
Back at the car the sky had clouded up and it was about to start raining. I did the sort as quick as possible and almost all of it was non-recyclables. The non-recyclables were deposited in the can and the truck bed was left next to it.
I'm glad they do have trash cans at this site. I don't think the truck bed would have fit in the back of my car.
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash
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