Patrick Administration Urges Citizens to Participate in Earth Day Events
Scheduled Across the Commonwealth Starting This Weekend

MassDEP Commissioner Burt Says 'Saving the Earth Begins at Home'

With the annual celebration of Earth Day next week, the Patrick Administration is urging citizens to volunteer on community environmental projects and act as environmental stewards of recycling, waste management and conservation.

As residents make preparations to mark Earth Day, Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Laurie Burt is encouraging Bay Staters to do all they can to reduce their personal impact on the environment by helping clean up their communities, recycle more and throw away less, and conserve water and energy.

"Preserving and protecting the environment is a daunting and enormous task. But as the old adage goes, many hands make light work," said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. "No matter how small our individual efforts at home might seem, together they can make a huge difference in creating a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future. Saving the earth begins at home."

For more information on local Earth Day-themed events across the state, visit: http://www.mass.gov/dep/public/earthday.htm. Scheduled to begin this weekend and run through May, these events include:

* Community-wide and river cleanups in Auburn, Brockton, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groton, Leicester, Milford and Royalston.

* Earth Day Fairs in Arlington, Framingham, Hanover, Hull, Longmeadow, Marlborough, Newburyport, Quincy and Woburn.

* Recycling, donation and hazardous household product collections in Bolton, Chicopee, Danvers, Mansfield, Needham, North Andover, Southbridge and Truro.

* Compost bin and rain barrel distributions in Attleboro, Northampton, South Hadley and Townsend.

* "Greening Your Business" presentations and networking events in Agawam, Natick and Somerville.

* School, library and college-based activities, contests and presentations in Boston, Byfield, Gloucester, Milton and Rockport.

To learn more about waste reduction, recycling and composting opportunities and programs in your community, visit http://www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/ or http://www.earth911.org.

For tips on reducing your personal impacts on the environment, visit http://www.mass.gov/dep/service/greenliving.htm. 

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