Jessica Yegge

Jessica and Dylan Yegge and Katy and Elly Kehl liked to walk and ride bikes on the Riverfront Trail in Washington, Mo. But, they didn’t like all the messy trash on the trail along the Missouri River.

So, last fall, the kids decided to do something about it.

Seventh-grader Jessica and 6th-grader Katy wrote a letter to Washington’s Mayor Dick Stratman. They asked if they could volunteer to clean up a mile stretch of the trail.

The mayor invited them to a meeting in his office to discuss their idea.

Jessica said, “The mayor answered back pretty quickly. Then, we all went to his office but Katy and I did the talking.”

After meeting with the mayor, the kids formed their Riverfront Trail Litter Patrol. With the help of Jessica’s mother, Tamie, they designed a logo and made up patrol T-shirts.

The multi-colored logo shows a futuristic person throwing items into a trash can. They printed the logos on the back and their names on the front of the shirts.

Katy Kehl

The city even put up a sign at the start of the trail noting the kids’ clean-up efforts. The sign also urges new users of the trail not to litter.

Eleven-year-old Katy Kehl said their first cleanup took three to four hours to cover their one-mile stretch. She said the second time was “a lot easier.”

Eleven-year-old Jessica said the kids collected six plastic bags full of trash on the first clean-up. But, they used only four bags on the second trash-collection day.

On the second time, Jessica said, “The trail was a lot cleaner.”

Jessica recruited her brother, 7-year-old Dylan, and Katy brought along her 6-year-old sister, Elly. The kids’ parents also are helping.

Dylan said he got “hot and sweaty” during the pickup. The kids each wore rubber “food gloves” while picking up the trash. Katy said their hands “got all-white” when they got wet inside the gloves.

Elly said her dad fooled her one time during the first pickup.

Dylan Yegge

She said her dad threw an empty beer bottle along the trail and then told her where to find it. “He said he didn’t do it but I’m sure it was him,” Elly said.

The kids said most of the trash was beer and soda containers. Katy said the largest item was a big square of Styrofoam. Jessica said she found lots of broken pieces of PVC pipe.

Asked if they ever found anything worth keeping, Katy said she did find a bottle cap with a coupon inside. She said she redeemed the cap for a free bottle of soda.

Elly said she found a bottle of perfume but she didn’t keep it.

Jessica said she and her patrol buddies have had good feedback from other users of the trail. “A few people come up to us while we’re picking up trash. They ask us what we’re doing and then say ‘good job,’” she said.

Elly Kehl

The kids said they use the trail pretty often for hikes and bicycle rides. For hikes, they usually go about a mile. But, on bike trips, they may travel seven miles round-trip.

Elly said one time she and a next-door friend went on a hike with her dad. “We walked on the trail and then had a picnic afterwards,” she said.

The kids would like some other groups to adopt other parts of the Riverfront Trail.

And, they’ve asked the city to provide some help to prevent the “yukkiest” litter. That is what Katy describes as “freshly fallen dog poop.” Most of the kids agreed that was the worst of the litter they collected.

Tamie Yegge said the city is considering installation of a holder where pet owners could pick up plastic gloves. The loose-fitting gloves are designed so owner can pick up the “dog poop.” When the gloves are taken off, they can be reversed to become a bag that can be thrown away.

There would be refuse cans along the trail into which the used gloves could be thrown.

Dylan will be a second grader this fall at South Point Elementary in Washington. He said he also volunteers to pick up trash on the school playground.

He said the “lunch lady” gives out stickers to the volunteers. Then, the kids turn in their trash to the teachers who throw it away.

Katy will be a sixth grader this fall. She said she volunteered at Fifth Street Elementary to “collect things for soldiers in Iraq and to write them cards.”