BRUNSWICK — On the nearly two-mile-long Lunt Road, sometimes used as a shortcut between Durham Road in Brunswick and Route 125 in Freeport, drivers occasionally leave something behind.

Out the window go fast food bags, cups, cigarette butts and potato chip bags that all mix with wind-whipped recycling scooting out of recycling bins along the road.

Last weekend, Lunt Road resident Meg Haskell and a team of neighbors picked up between 30 to 40 pounds of trash, Haskell said, as part of the second annual roadside cleanup.

“It seems to be a dumping grounds for everybody’s trash en route through that shortcut,” Haskell said, “so, I thought it would be kind of neat to have people out on the road get out and meet their neighbors, clean the road up, and get some exercise.”

This year, approximately 15 people came out for the event that Haskell said has a social function as well as a practical goal.

“We put out a table of goodies that different neighbors make so we can get to know each other,” Haskell said.

To start, they all at least have shared feelings about neighborhood litter.

“It’s too bad that people just feel they have to toss that out of their windows,” Haskell said. “I just can’t imagine that’s the environment they want to live in — that they want to be surrounded by trash.”

Word about the event is spreading.

After finishing the cleanup, Haskell said a man knocked on her door and let her know that down the road, he spent the day independently tidying up the roadside.

dfishell@timesrecord.com

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