Operation Clean Sweep returns for 2021
Warwick. A Warwick tradition since 1990, but cancelled last year due to the pandemic, resumes.
| 26 Apr 2021 | 06:40
On Saturday, April 24, volunteers were invited to stop by the table near the chamber’s South Street Caboose office to pick up free rubber gloves, garbage bags and refreshments. From left, Elizabeth Verboys, a member of Girl Scout Cadet Troop 733, and Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michael Johndrow hand over a few supplies to an Operation Clean Sweep volunteer, Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton. Photos ny Roger Gavan.
The Warwick Lions Club provided a shredding truck, at its own expense, for the benefit of local residents. (
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The annual “pill drop” organized by the Warwick Valley Coalition in cooperation with the Warwick Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration collected approximately 150 pounds of unused prescription and over-the-counter medications. Warwick business owner Jenny Altman (right) hands over a bag of unused prescriptions to volunteers from the Warwick Valley Coalition, the Warwick Police Department and the National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. (
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It appears that some of Warwick’s traditional outdoor events, which were canceled last year due to COVID-19, are coming back.
Last weekend Michael Johndrow, executive director of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce, was pleased to announce the successful conclusion of another “Operation Clean Sweep,” the annual roadside cleanup sponsored by the chamber.
This year’s event, like the one in 2019, was again changed from a weekend to a weeklong event that ran from April 17 to Sunday, April 25.
On Saturday, April 24, volunteers were invited to stop by the table near the chamber’s South Street Caboose office to pick up free rubber gloves, garbage bags and safety vests for those planning to pick-up trash on busy roads.
Each year various groups, clubs and individuals take part by pre-registering their routes in order to ensure garbage pickup by the Department of Public Works on the following Monday and Tuesday. And each year the county also waves the landfill fee.
However, there are numerous others who participate in the town wide event and many people just volunteer on their own without registering.
In addition to the roadside clean up, there were several other scheduled programs that day. .
The Warwick Lions Club, for example, provided a shredding truck, at its own expense, for the benefit of local residents.
The annual “pill drop” organized by the Warwick Valley Coalition in cooperation with the Warwick Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) collected approximately 150 pounds of unused prescription and over the counter medications.
This year’s Operation Clean Sweep, which originated in 1990, was again coordinated by the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce with the aid of Warwick High School student Elizabeth Verboys, a member of Girl Scout Cadet Troop733.
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PICS: 3 photos and captions uploaded to MyCapture
1. On Saturday, April 24, volunteers were invited to stop by the table near the Chamber’s South Street Caboose office to pick up free rubber gloves, garbage bags and refreshments.
From left, Elizabeth Verboys, a member of Girl Scout CadetTroop733 and Warwick
Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Michael Johndrow hand over a
few supplies to an Operation Clean Sweep volunteer, Town of Warwick Supervisor
Michael Sweeton.