Cumberland County trash hunt draws record 576 volunteers

Cumberland County’s annual trash hunt turned into a record-setting cleanup, with 576 volunteers from 35 groups fanning out across the county and pulling 16.52 tons of waste and car tires out of public spaces. The turnout gave the 34th Annual Trash Hunt its largest volunteer total yet and sent a clear signal that litter control remains a live quality-of-life issue in Bridgeton, Millville, Vineland and nearby communities.

The effort was more than a one-day pickup. Volunteers were supplied with gloves and trash bags, then sent to collect litter from roadsides, waterways and other problem areas while The Authority of Cumberland County handled pickup and disposal afterward. The county says that kind of coordination matters because the work affects what residents see every day along road shoulders, around neighborhoods and near summer recreation areas that depend on cleaner water and better-maintained surroundings.

The cleanup also carried a memorial meaning this year. The Authority said the 2026 event was held in memory of Lee Widjeskog, a longtime member and secretary of the Cumberland County Federation of Sportsmen, the group that helped launch the Trash Hunt in 1992. What began with the sportsmen’s federation has since expanded into a countywide effort that now draws environmental groups, school groups, civic organizations and individual volunteers.

Among the groups taking part were the Cumberland County Sportsmen’s Federation, Good Sports Gun Club, Menantico Gun Club, South Millville Gun Club, Mauricetown Gunning Club, Competition Dirt Riders, Cumberland County Ducks Unlimited, East Creek Gun Club, Rosenhayn Gun Club, Tri-County Sportsmen, Venatores Gun Club, Citizens United, Chopper Automotive, Boy and Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Millville Woman’s Club. That mix showed the cleanup’s reach across clubs, families and volunteers who do not usually work side by side but showed up for the same task.

The scale of the county effort also reflects a larger maintenance burden. The Authority says its Clean Communities program works to keep 540 miles of county roads and bridges litter-free, and the trash collected in these events is taken to the Cumberland County Solid Waste Complex on Jesse Bridge Road in Millville for proper disposal. The program itself is part of the state’s Clean Communities system, created under the New Jersey Clean Communities Act of 1986 and funded through grants that go to all 21 counties and 558 municipalities.

The 2026 total topped last year’s 498 volunteers from 31 groups and surpassed the 2024 turnout of 486 volunteers from 35 groups. With more hands and a heavier haul than either recent year, this year’s Trash Hunt suggested both the persistence of the county’s litter problem and the strength of the local response to it.