For Earth Day this year, active duty personnel and civilian employees working at the Naval Station (NAVSTA) Newport in Rhode Island conducted a base-wide clean-up.

Personnel cleaned up debris, litter, trash and recyclables on April 16 to 20, focusing on shoreline areas adjacent to Narragansett Bay. The clean-up was done from 8 am to 1 pm.

The base was divided into three areas: Coasters’ Harbor Island, Coddington Point, and Coddington Cove, and available personnel from NAVSTA Newport departments and 12 tenant commands were assigned to these areas.

The effort collected a total of 2,378 pounds of debris and litter, with total trash collected weighing 537 pounds. They were also able to recover a total of 1,841 pounds of recyclable materials, consisting of 1,120 pounds of wood; 221 pounds of bottles/cans/paper, and cardboard; and 500 pounds of scrap metal. This contributed to a 77 percent diversion rate to local landfills.

Last year, a similar effort yielded more than 2,800 pounds of debris, 1,700 pounds of which consisted of recyclable materials.

Capt. Douglas Mikatarian, commanding officer, Naval Station Newport, shared: “Our annual base clean up demonstrates that we can make a difference in showing our continued commitment to environmental stewardship… By involving all possible NAVSTA departments and tenant commands, we achieved our goal of improving base appearance and keeping our shoreline free of debris and litter.”

A clean-up was also conducted by thirty Scouts and their adult chaperones from Boy Scout Troop 7, Middletown, R.I. and Boy Scout Troop 4, Riverside, R.I., who visited NAVSTA Newport on April 20-22 for an overnight encampment. They conducted a litter and debris clean-up at Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Carr Point Recreation Area.