A group meets weekly to clean up areas near and around the water.
Joseph Gagnon, Administrator, Making Massachusetts Fishing Spots Great Again, "It's not just trash we pick up, a lot of spots we go to theres an abundance of heroin needles and they aren't just out in the open with the caps on them so you can see them, they are buried under leaves, in the dirt."
So far they've picked up more than 600 needles, which is a dangerous task.
Brian Houle, Vice President of Making Massachusetts Fishing Spots Great Again), "We set up systems, so everyone's safe. People sign waivers, but at the end of the day, you don't want anyone getting hurt."
Group members will come scout out these areas before their clean ups to see if there are any needles.
Brian Houle, "We usually scout an area 3, 4 times before we let volunteers get down in there."
Now the group's leaders are collecting donations to raise money for special gloves.
Joseph Gagnon, Admin, Making Massachusetts Fishing Spots Great Again, "There's these gloves, they aren't poke proof, but they are poke resistant, class level 5 which means they are the highest level poke resistant for hypodermic needles."
They started a Facebook Fundraising page after a member was poked while picking up a needle and to take every precaution so it doesn't happen again.
Rich Jones is a volunteer, "Just take care, pick em up with gloves always and put them in the sharp containers. most of us carry sharp containers with us."
Jones became involved after the clean up on Exchange Street. It's his backyard and has long been a spot for a lot of trash and needles. "The group came in and all came together and did this and I considered it a great favor to me."
The police department does dispose of containers of needles, and the group hopes these clean up efforts start to catch on.
Houle, "That is like a ripple effect. Next thing you know people in the city care and boom you start a movement."
Gagnon, "We are going to hit the Springfield Connecticut River shoreline and clean that whole thing up."