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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Kennedy: Retirees get honks and waves for their daily litter pick-ups along Mountain Creek Road

Rose and Rick Coddaire, retirees living in Red Bank, pick up trash daily along Mountain Creek Road. Motorists honk and wave in appreciation of the couple's work. Times Free Press Photo by Mark Kennedy
Rose and Rick Coddaire, retirees living in Red Bank, pick up trash daily along Mountain Creek Road. Motorists honk and wave in appreciation of the couple's work. Times Free Press Photo by Mark Kennedy Rose and Rick Coddaire, retirees living in Red Bank, pick up trash daily along Mountain Creek Road. Motorists honk and wave in appreciation of the couple's work. Times Free Press Photo by Mark Kennedy

Every day at about 9 a.m., Rick and Rose Coddaire grab their tools and hit the road.

The Coddaires, Red Bank retirees in their 70s, have become minor celebrities for their daily litter pick-ups along Mountain Creek Road.

They walk a five-mile loop each morning carrying plastic grocery bags and grabber tools to comb the sidewalks, medians and ditches for trash.

“You can pick up a dime with this,” said Rick, triggering his grabber tool to lift a tiny piece of paper from the curb one morning last week.

They also pick up cigarette butts, fast-food debris, drink cans and any other trash that finds its way onto the busy roadway, which is lined with apartment and condominium complexes.