Preston — Two town agencies are organizing the first townwide cleanup weekend of litter that has accumulated along all 95 town roads – not including the busy state routes that run through town.

The Conservation and Agricultural Commission and the Parks and Recreation Department are co-sponsoring Preston Cleanup Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Residents, businesses, civic groups and teams are asked to register to clean up specific roads on the Parks and Recreation page on the town website, www.preston-ct.org.

Each road has been assigned a specific number of slots, so if one road is “full,” volunteers can choose another road for the cleanup. All roads are listed alphabetically, along with the number of assigned spots.

Selectman and Conservation Agricultural Commission member Lynwood Crary said the commission started discussing the idea after seeing that another town had planned to do a townwide cleanup. Preston’s cleanup quickly grew to an organized effort, with Recreation Director Amy Brosnan “took over the logistics” and set up the list of roads and registration program, Crary said.

“We didn’t want the whole town to show up on one road,” Crary said.

Short or isolated roads have fewer slots, one for Old Shetucket Turnpike and two for Benjamin Road, for example, while busier or longer roads have more slots, five for Brickyard Road, six for River Road and eight for Old Jewett City Road.

The Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority has donated garbage bags, reflective vests and pickers, available this week at the selectmen’s office during Town Hall hours for use by cleanup volunteers. The pickers are numbered, and Crary said the town is asking people to return the vests and pickers.

“David Aldridge (SCRRRA executive director) has been very helpful,” Crary said. “I really want to thank him.”

People can leave full cleanup bags on the sides of the street, and town Public Works Department crews will begin collecting them on Monday, April 29. It could take a few days for crews to collect all the bags, Crary said.

For information about the cleanup, contact Preston Parks and Recreation at (860) 887-5581, ext. 113, or by email at recreation@preston-ct.org.

c.bessette@theday.com