Talking Trash With Dan Nardini

Dan Nardini bags litter at Southington's Recreation Park PHILIP THIBODEAU PHOTOS

Heat rolled from the blacktop at Recreation Park and the sky was white with smoke from distant Canadian wildfires. On this humid Saturday afternoon in Southington, most people who were outside were trying to get relief: splashing in a swimming pool, cruising in a convertible, or spooning gelato at the Italian-American festival. Clearing a public space of litter might have its benefits, but cooling off was not one of them.

From Dan Nardini’s point of view, however, sometimes you have to look at more than your personal comfort. As he sees it, our environment is fouled with trash and other forms of pollution; since we are the ones who put it there, it’s our duty to deal with it. The place to start? Wherever you happen to live. “’Think globally, act locally’, is my motto,” Dan says.

Besides, he points out, you can get in your steps – Dan tries to hit 10,000 a day – and when you’re finished, you can look back with satisfaction on a job well done. Once free of trash, most areas will stay clean for the remainder of the year.

Armed with a gripper stick capable of grabbing items as small as a soda-can tab, Dan set out to patrol the southern half of the park, expecting his bag would be full within the hour. Litter can turn up anywhere, but tends to collect near fences that act as windbreaks, and places where crowds gather, like spectator stands. Plastic straws and mylar packaging are easy picking, while paper products tend to cling to the soil.

Removing litter has become more rewarding for Dan after a minor brush with fame. Back in April, after an early effort to gather trash along the Farmington Canal trail, he took a picture of his haul and posted it on the Southington Talks Facebook page. He expected a photo of some garbage to score a few laughs before vanishing from sight. Much to his surprise, it became wildly popular, garnering several hundred hearts and thumbs-ups.

Others were inspired to imitate his project; the United Way joined in, organizing a litter clean-up Day of Action in June. As a result, Southington’s portion of the canal trail is now much cleaner. Dan has now shifted his focus to Recreation Park, and hopes to tackle Panthorn next, which he sees as a formidable task, given its size.

Asked to name his least favorite bits of trash, Dan mentioned cigarette butts (which don’t break down) and plastic bags of dog poop (there the gripper stick proves its worth). Another nemesis: nip bottles – the small, 1.5 ounce liquor bottles sold at the counters of liquor stores.

A discarded nip bottle

It is hard to walk far along any stretch of public road without encountering an empty nip bottle on the shoulder. The reason for this has to do with state law. The ten cents one can receive for redeeming glass, metal, or plastic bottles provides incentive for people to gather empties from trash cans or public spaces.

However, the state treats revenue from the nip bottle tax differently, returning it directly to the towns. Over the two year period from October 2021 to September 2023, 671,911 nip bottles were sold in Southington and the town received $119,371 from the state. According to the CT Beverage Journal, towns are encouraged, but not required, to use the funds for recycling and litter removal efforts. Since the bottles have no redemption value, there is no incentive to gather or return them, and as a result they tend to be one of the major components of curbside trash.

Dan would like to see the law changed to address the littering issue. This past spring, at a library town hall held by Representative Poulos, the audience offered vocal support for such a measure.

After collecting for nearly an hour, Dan had a half a bag’s worth of litter. Recreation Park, already reasonably tidy, was in good shape. Little Leaguers can now enjoy unspoiled playing fields; when workers from the Parks and Recreation Department mow, they don’t have to worry about chopping plastic cups into pieces.

A retired software engineer, Dan has other pastimes, including golfing and walking dogs at the animal shelter. He also has a personal project – to attend at least one college basketball game at every Division I arena – that involves flying as far away as Hawaii. Picking up trash, by contrast, takes him about an hour a week. By doing so and publicizing it in a way that has inspired others to follow suit, Dan is on his way to making all of Southington’s most popular public spaces litter-free.