Trash at Pony Pasture

This past Sunday afternoon, Mark and I went down to Pony Pasture to clean up the riverbanks. To prepare for the job, Mark borrowed some gloves from his lab and acquired some plastic bags for us to put trash in. I then drove us down to Pony Pasture.
At first, we struggled with finding trash. We noticed that there were animal-proof trash and recycling bins placed along the path, and apparently people were using them. However, even with all of these bins, there was still more trash on the ground than there should have been, especially considering the high number of trash bins and the minimal space between them. Most of this trash was, interestingly enough, cigarette butts. After patrolling the main path, we decided to explore the side paths that go out to the river.
There was a lot more trash off of the main path. Our bags quickly filled with an assortment of trash and recyclables. We picked up everything from frisbees to alcohol cans. I even found a nice camping knife I am planning on refurbishing. I
When we were on the side paths I noticed that there was a lot of debris in the form of small twigs and branches that were fused together with mud. This had the appearance of a post-flood area. Part of the fun of the whole experience was finding which branches and logs were strong and stable enough to support my weight as I travelled in search of pollution.
When our time quota and bags were filled, Mark and I travelled back to the parking lot. When we got there, we found a man to take a picture of us and some of our collection. Mark also took a picture of some of the trash we picked up. Those pictures will later be available for everyone’s viewing pleasure on his blog post.