Where Rivers and "Nip" Bottles Meet

 

Whenever I paddle the Nashua River downstream from the "Meeting of the Waters" in Lancaster, MA there are almost always two things I can count on.  One is a fallen tree across the river which will determine where my upriver or downriver progress comes to an end.  The second is that considerable amounts of plastic containers will be present...especially "nip" bottles.  This past Tuesday and Thursday I paddled the stretch between Roper's Brook on the river's north branch and Pine Hill on the river's main stem.  This modified 1950 map from the UNH Dimond Library shows the area...

  

On Tuesday I launched from Seven Bridge Road and paddled a mile or so downriver alongside Pine Hill and then upriver to a blowdown about 0.75 miles above Seven Bridge Road. Wore an orange vest over my PFD since there were some duck hunters in the area.

Despite the fallen trees and plastic trash, this stretch is beautiful...

...and provides a place where one can truly get away from it all...

On Thursday I launched further upriver in Lancaster right across Route 70 from where the Rowlandson Garrison House stood in the 1600s...

Pushed off from under the CSX railroad bridge and headed down the North Branch of the Nashua River...

It's just a short distance to the "Meeting of the Waters" where the Nashua's north and south branches converge.  Looking back at the confluence from under Center Bridge Road fallen trees can be seen blocking access to the south branch (on the left) whereas the north branch (to the right) is more navigable...

From Center Bridge I went downriver on the Nashua's main stem to the point where a sizable blowdown had blocked my upriver progress on Tuesday...

Returning back upriver and past the "Meeting of the Waters" I once again ascended the north branch...

...as far as Roper's Brook which is fairly close to where the Rowlandson family lived...

 The trash recovered on Tuesday included 130 "nip" bottles...

Thursday's trash included 63 "nip" bottles...

Thus there were 193 "nip" bottles in just 3 miles of river.   Of the 2041 "nips" I've picked up so far in 2025, 1662 have come from the Nashua River.

On the Container Recycling Institute's website I came across an article by Beck Wehner of WWLP.com that mentioned the Massachusetts city of North Adams starting a pilot program where, beginning on November 1st, they'll pay five-cents for each clean and empty "nip" bottle that is returned.  The article states "North Adams officials hope that this pilot program demonstrates how a bottle bill could prevent nip bottle litter in neighborhoods and streets."  Presently the Massachusetts Bottle Bill doesn't include "nip" bottles.  Perhaps the Nashua River communities of Clinton, Fitchburg, and Leominster will consider following North Adams' lead by placing a redemption value on "nip" bottles.