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One of the odd things about a watershed cleanup is that someone in the crew counts everything that is found. Like 197 bottle caps or 466 pieces of foam and one coconut.

It’s kind of fun, though. It raises questions of how all that stuff got into a watershed, suggests ideas for how to reduce trash of certain kinds, and shows how much was accomplished.

Lake Accotink Park’s Fall Watershed Cleanup this month drew volunteers of all ages. There were local residents including members of the Friends of Lake Accotink Park and Cub Scouts from Pack 702. Lake Accotink Park’s marketing coordinator, Hannah Wilkerson, filed this tally of their accomplishments:

• Estimated number of volunteers: 107
• Estimated number of volunteer hours contributed: 179 hours
• Estimated number of bags filled: 61
• Estimated number of pounds of trash collected: 915

Items removed from the watershed:

• 833 plastic beverage bottles
• 466 foam pieces
• 281 beverage cans
• 272 food wrappers/containers
• 206 glass beverage bottles
• 181 bottle caps (plastic)
• 157 cups/plates (foam)
• 118 plastic pieces
• 111 plastic bags
• 107 takeout containers (plastic)
• 103 segments of fishing line
• 100 plastic grocery bags
• 86 lids (plastic)
• 85 takeout containers (foam)
• 62 glass pieces
• 58 straws or stirrers
• 57 cigarettes/filters
• 51 cups/plates (paper)
• 41 cups/plates (plastic)
• 29 tobacco packaging wraps
• 28 balloons
• 24 forks, knives, or spoons
• 22 cigarette lighters
• 22 buoys/traps
• 20 cigar tips
• 20 fishing nets
• 16 bottle caps (metal)
• 16 construction material pieces
• 9 diapers
• 8 other plastic/foam packaging pieces
• 7 paper bags
• 7 condoms
• 7 six-pack holders
• 3 arrows
• 2 socks
• bleach/cleaner bottles
• A lot of balls
• A few rope segments
• 1 syringe
• 1 shoe
• 1 Q-tip
• 1 small rubber tube
• 1 pair of underwear
• 1 hat
• 1 gas cap
• 1 fishing rod
• 1 coconut

Thanks to volunteers, Lake Accotink is a little cleaner, our water is a little cleaner, and a couple thousand pieces of trash aren’t headed to the Chesapeake Bay.