ATHOL – Green Clean Athol, the annual town-wide cleanup campaign, was, according to event co-organizer Heidi Strickland, “a huge success.”

Approximately 90 volunteers showed up outside the Athol Senior Center at Lord Pond Plaza on Saturday, April 20, to pick up bags and gloves before heading out to collect trash that had accumulated along neighborhood streets over the winter months. The gathered refuse was then dropped off at the town’s transfer station.

“We picked up three tons of trash, 15 tires, two mattresses, three TVs, five chairs, one dresser and only one needle,” said Strickland. “We really want to thank everyone. The Boy Scouts did a great job, the Masons were well represented, and so was the Woman’s Club. All volunteers were hugely appreciated, and their enthusiasm was contagious.”

The Green Clean Athol event takes place each year on or around Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22. In addition to the volunteers who assisted with the cleanup, several employees of the Department of Public Works drove trucks to transport some of the many bags of trash and larger items collected to the transfer station on West Royalston Road.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.