Thirty-nine volunteers picked up 44 bags worth of bottles, cans, and other unsightly trash along the Piscataway Creek shoreline April 14 as part of the annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup.

Piscataway Hills residents and a few environmentally minded volunteers from nearby areas enjoyed a perfect spring day for the cleanup. Among the more unusual items hauled out this year were a file cabinet, a wheelbarrow, a broken wooden bench, and two propane tanks. Only eight tires were found, which was far fewer than in previous years.

“Everyone agrees that there was far less trash this year—we must be making a difference,” said Debbie Kutzleb, who organized the Piscataway Hills shoreline cleanup along with PHCA Vice President Dave Lishin.

The Piscataway Hills cleanup crew picked up trash from Lot 39 Waterfront Park and the adjacent National Park Service land. Crews in boats also cleaned up the island across from the Lot 39 boat ramp and upstream along Piscataway Creek to the Indian Head Highway Bridge. All the trash was taken to a special dumpster at Fort Washington Marina to be hauled away.

Doughnuts and cookies gave the volunteers an energy boost before they started work at 9 a.m., and they were rewarded with hot dogs, beer, and other cold drinks after the cleanup ended around noon.

Piscataway Hills was one of 392 registered sites in this year’s Potomac Cleanup, which is sponsored by the Alice Ferguson Foundation. Altogether, 7,532 vol- unteers picked up 118 tons of trash, including 1,178 tires, 126,500 recyclable beverage containers, 25,571 plastic bags, and 24,616 cigarette butts.