Nantucket Litter Derby Winners Crowned Sunday At Brewery

If the island feels a little lighter and cleaner today, it's no accident. The third annual Nantucket Litter Derby was held over the weekend, as 42 teams fanned out across the island on a singular mission to gather as much trash as possible. When the derby concluded Sunday afternoon with a weigh-in at the landfill, tons of garbage and refuse had been retrieved from Nantucket's roadsides, beaches, parks, and conservation lands.

A team going by the name of "Pod Squad" took first place after collecting 2.23 tons of trash around the island over the weekend. The Pod Squad’s four truckloads of garbage included 127 balloons found on beaches, three derelict boats, and a composter. The team - Rain Harbison, Kim Schulam, Peter Meerbergen, Steve St. Pierre, and Blair Perkins - is donating the $1,000 first place cash prize to their organization, the Marine Mammal Alliance Nantucket.

During the after party at Cisco Brewers Sunday afternoon, Litter Derby creator Leah Mojer announced the first, second, and third-place teams, handing out hand-made medals from Nantucket Creative Reuse. Mojer, along with a small team of volunteers and Town of Nantucket staff worked all weekend to facilitate the event.

"We want to acknowledge the incredible effort Leah Mojer puts into this event every year and what a wonderful gesture to Mother Earth to have the brainchild be the litter derby," Perkins said. "She is an absolute rock star."