Funded by a variety of groups including the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Massport, the City of Boston, and the Eastern Salt Company, organizers say the program is working and the harbor is cleaner than ever.
The program is The Boston Harbor Association’s Marine Debris Cleanup Program, the boat and its two crew members, armed with nets, will search the harbor and surrounding waterways three to four days a week until mid-September for trash.
Started in 2000, it costs an estimated $40,000 a year to cleanup and dispose of the trash scooped out by the crew. Each year an estimated 10-15 tons of debris are removed from the waters and since the program’s founding more than 265 tons of debris have been removed, according to organizers.