River Keeper Concerned About Waterfront Trash-Free Policy

A “trash free park” sign at the Cambridge Harbor site.

In the October ShoreRivers newsletter, Choptank Riverkeeper Matt Pluta said he was pleased with the plan to locate a new fishing pier on the Dorchester side of the river. However, he expressed some concerns with other aspects of the property now known as Cambridge Harbor. He spoke with The Spy by phone and expanded on his feelings about certain decisions being made on the Cambridge shoreline.

After the Bill Burton Fishing Pier was permanently closed in 2022 because of structural deterioration, the City of Cambridge, Dorchester County, and Cambridge Waterfront Development Inc. (CWDI) agreed that the replacement pier should be built in Cambridge. Pluta was encouraged by the momentum behind this, as he felt access is most needed here, where it will have the greatest impact.

“What made the Bill Burton Pier so special was its deep-water access–one of the only places in Maryland where anglers could cast from shore into 30- to 40-foot waters, usually reserved for those with boats,” Pluta said in the newsletter. “The pier offered not only sport fishing opportunities but also a reliable food source for people fishing to feed their families.”

However, he worried about “how responsibilities for management and maintenance will be shared among CWDI, the city, and the county. Recent decisions, like instituting a ‘trash-free park’ policy at Cambridge Harbor, raise red flags about whether day-to-day stewardship has been fully thought through.” He went on to say that “urban waterfronts require practical, ongoing maintenance to prevent litter and protect water quality.”

As a ShoreRivers employee, Pluta spends a great deal of the summertime at Cambridge’s waterfront parks, testing the water for bacteria levels.

“And it is no surprise to anybody who uses our waterfront that we already have a problem with managing trash and litter,” he told The Spy, “and that’s not to say it’s anyone’s fault. It’s just probably to say that we haven’t paid enough attention to figuring out how to solve it. So, when I go to Sailwinds and I see these trash-free signs put up there, I have a lot of concerns about that because I don’t see, in an urban waterfront setting that’s really transient like Sailwinds, so close to 50, I don’t see how that could work.”

The trash-free signs indicate a “pack-in, pack-out” policy. Because there are no trash receptacles, visitors must take all of their waste products with them when they leave. Pluta was ready with illustrations supporting his doubts about the efficacy of the policy.

“If people come and stop in on their way to Ocean City or wherever,” he said, “the example I think of is, are you gonna stop and let your kid get out and walk to the shoreline and change their diaper and then take it with you? Are you gonna let your dog poop along the waterfront and then pick it up and take it with you? No, you’re gonna end up leaving it there. And that’s already what I’ve seen by visiting the waterfront. There’s trash collecting around these signs.”

Pluta has been informed by those in charge of the Cambridge Harbor project that they have a plan and are working through who will be responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of the property. But, if there is a plan, he hasn’t seen it being executed. He suggested that the trash issue should be handled in the way that the county has managed Sailwinds.

“I frequently run along the shore there every other morning at 6:30,” he explained. “A county employee pulls up in his truck and empties those garbage cans, and so they’re doing it right there. . . . At least they’re actively trying to manage it instead of passively trying to manage it, and I think passive management of our waterfront is going to quickly deteriorate its value.”

He also said that the state parks worked hard to keep the old fishing pier clean by providing receptacles and even bags for the fishermen to carry onto the pier with them. Pluta considers that to be a good model for the managers of Cambridge Harbor. This includes maintenance of the waterfront, something he takes personally as both the Choptank Riverkeeper and an open water swimmer.

“I can tell you the worst feeling I’ve ever had swimming in the river is when a plastic bag gets caught up in your arm when you’re swimming,” he said.

Despite all those concerns, Pluta was quick to assure The Spy and its readers that he wants the harbor project to succeed. “My thought is that, when the promenade opens, that’s gonna be an opportunity for us to show us as a community, to show progress on that property. And I wanna see it being seen in the good light and not littered with trash and not taken care of. I think there’s a good opportunity to really start off on the right foot.”