From the Streets to the River – Litter’s Effect on Malden

By Merari Flores and Nora Hounain

One of the biggest problems in today’s society is acknowledging environmental issues without taking any action to address them. Walking down the street, it is easy to spot trash; however, not much is being done in order to clean it up or, at the very least, prevent the amount of litter present. 

In the United States alone, according to Keep America Beautiful, there are about 50 billion pieces of trash along waterways and roadways. In Malden, Massachusetts, the problem of litter is no exception. 124568

In April 2023, Friends of the Malden River (FoMR), held a clean-up event where they were able to fill up 70 bags plus miscellaneous materials like mattress springs, bicycles, and UFO’s with riverside waste.  In 2024 alone, 4,390 pounds of trash has been collected in the Malden River Watershed as well as 4,124 pounds from trash clean-up events. 

Friends of the Malden River is one of many organizations in Malden that actively push and advocate to keep the environment clean. They focus on problem-solving and awareness about climate change as well as other environmental issues that are detrimentally affecting the surroundings of people and animals of Malden.

Karen Buck, FoMR president, shed light on what she believes is the biggest issue with pollution: plastic is the most invasive and problematic type of trash. She says since plastic packaging is so widely used, she “mostly sees single use plastics outside,” specifically plastic bottles. 

Due to plastic’s inability to degrade efficiently, it accumulates in landfills and other places. During the April 7 clean up at River’s Edge, 1,571 single-use plastic bottles were separated out from 28 bags of debris. 

Not only is plastic not biodegradable and invasive in the environment, it is also a toxic substance in our foods and drinks. Due to the constant usage of plastic packaging humans consume about 5 grams of micro plastics per week, according to South Seattle Emerald.

The majority of the time, people do not care about environmental problems until they realize it is actually affecting their physical health. Buck says, “when you really pinpoint it down for human public health, that’s when people start paying attention.” This is why Buck urges for action so further damage can be prevented.

Despite the historic lack, more people are becoming involved and awareness is spreading despite the historic lack of environmental engagement. Specifically, the people of Malden are doing more for its environment. Citizens are pushing for more, advocating for policies and funding in order to be able to tackle Malden’s environmental problems.

The Malden River has a trash trap that catches the litter that is in the water. Buck says “When there’s heavy precipitation such as storms or rain, the street litter is washed away to the storm drainage system and ends up in the Malden River.”

Because the river is right beside a dumpster near the Super 88 market, waste is often accidently spilled into the water. In order to monitor the amount of waste, one of the things that FoMR members focus on is to check the trash trap regularly to ensure it is being cleaned out as much as possible.

Trash is inevitable, but the polluting of the rivers and streets can be controlled. Citizens of Malden have also made it clear that they do not wish to see trash littering their streets and sidewalks.

 Kathleen Maglio, one of the AP Environmental Science teachers at Malden High School, describes that, “it messes up the kind of calm vibe when you’re seeing nature.” Maglio focuses a lot on plastic usage in the AP Environmental Science curriculum. She says, “Most of the things we buy are wrapped in plastic packaging like when you grab a snack or a drink.” Plastic packaging is used the most because it is the cheapest, which is why it is the most invasive type of litter.

Plastic is everywhere and used in everyday life but, like Maglio and Buck mention, there are ways to cut down on the use of plastic.

While at school, Maglio emphasizes that students should know this information but also try to do something about it. During her interview, she also offers an example of a solution, saying, “One thing we can do is get a larger package of something and put it inside of reusable containers.”

She has been teaching at Malden High School for over 10 years and continues to educate herself and involve herself in environmental issues.

Dorothy Michel, a student at Malden High School, expressed a similar sentiment. She feels “disgusted by litter” and that “a clean ground is expected for humans and animals to live in” without the harm of waste. Along with everyone else, she notices how plastic is used the most and believes that a way to tackle the problem is by switching to biodegradable packaging, then “there would definitely be less waste outside.”

It is important for people in all cities, not just Malden, to be aware of the effects of plastic and littering. Acknowledgment is only the first step to a change for environmental improvement as involvement is critical.

Guilherme Da Mata Silva, a student at Malden High School, believes that action is important. He says, “People need to do more, whether it is community clean-ups or simply changing habits such as properly recycling.”

A common belief, or pattern, amongst the interviewees is that plastic is the largest component to litter and that more policies should be enforced in order to tackle the issue. Maglio, Da Mata Silva, Michel, and Buck all believe that in Malden, laws can improve the environment.

One example of a policy that can be implemented is to have more trash cans all throughout Malden. Trash cans are not very accessible and having more trash bins would encourage people to limit their littering. Having more bins closer to each other makes it more likely that people will throw out pieces of trash that would usually be littered. 

The implementation of more bins is great, but with most ideas, there are side issues with them.

Buck points out that, though more bins would be helpful, there is also the problem of some people throwing away their household trash in these bins to avoid having to pay extra for the mandated blue bags of Malden. She explains how in the Forestdale school area, there used to be many trash cans but were removed because of how full they would get with household trash. Buck says, “this leads to illegal dumping in the side of the streets, parks, and waters and it’s really shameful that people do that.”

So although there are some cons to adding bins, these bins would still help to tackle the constant littering.

In late June, 2024, the Massachusetts Senate proposed a “climate” bill that included expanding the state’s existing bottle bill. Some believed it would be one of the biggest steps to toward environmental reform in Massachusetts. According to Recycling Today , a state-wide poll revealed that 82% of registered voters support modernising the state’s bottle bill. They even state that 95% percent of the people who took the poll believe that reducing waste and litter is important. 

Unfortunately, the House and Senate did not agree on the bill before the end of the 2023-2024 legislative session. To become a law, the bill process will have to start all over again in January 2025 when the new session starts.

The 2024 bottle bill would have allowed non-carbonated beverages and alcoholic nips to be deposited. It would also have increased the redemption rate from 5 cents to 10 cents. If this law were in place, fewer bottles would be seen outside because they would be more likely to be recycled, making it a helpful contributor to less litter. 

Although the bottle bill is a big step to environmental reform, Buck says there will need to be more than just the bottle bill.  She says, “We need to ban the unnecessary plastics like plastic bags at stores and when you go out for takeout foods too. There’s so much of that plastic that ends up in the river as well.”

Though more laws could be implemented, one aspect we can congratulate the city on is their achievements and striving for a better future. It is clear that Malden has a lot of environmental engagement due to its organizations and activities and that is all due to awareness and the push for a better environment by the citizens of Malden. 

Habits that can help reduce litter and waste in our community include using reusable bottles instead of plastic, picking up trash, and educating others of its consequences. Like Buck emphasizes, it is about changing the culture. Awareness and action is the start to change since walking down the street, most people do not have the habit to pick up littered trash. It’s time for action and change. After all, Earth is our only home. 

Special thanks to Aya Benjebli, Ashley Benfield, and Amber Benfield. With help from Alex Van. Thank you to the interviewees: Karen Buck, Dorothy Michel, Guilherme Da Mata Silva, and Kathy Maglio.

The Malden High School Eco-Club is a student organization that works to raise awareness about environmental issues and work toward solutions to environmental problems, particularly on the local level. Several club members interned at Urban Media Arts this summer to learn how to use the power of media to explore, educate and empower.