Southampton's Unsung Hero, in a Pickup Truck Full of Trash

When Dave Lipman drives home at the end of his workday in Southampton Town, he can’t help but notice debris and trash alongside the roads in his up-island hometown. A town maintenance mechanic assigned to litter removal, he wonders, “What am I paying taxes for?”

In Southampton, residents are getting their money’s worth in a man Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman calls “an unsung hero.”

In 2022, Lipman collected over 32,000 pounds of garbage — by himself — from along town roadways. This year, he’s on pace to break his record, and by January 9 had already picked up some 2,420 pounds of debris. He collected over 1.3 tons per month over the course of a route that covers the entire town last year.

“He tries to beat his own record,” Town Code Compliance & Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy said, affection and pride both clear on his face.

“When I took the job, I was told they had four people pick up three tons in four months,” Lipman recalled. “When I hit a ton in my first month, I said, ‘Okay, this is reasonable.’”

Lipman joined the Town Litter Crew about 18 months ago. The team, known as the TLC, was established in 2020 to pick up discarded PPE and other debris along roads and parks during the COVID-19 shutdown. The original team of young people picked up gloves and masks — and they don’t weigh a lot.

“Dave’s getting logs and cinder blocks and things like that,” Murphy noted.

TLC still functions, but it’s winnowed down to just Lipman and his black pickup truck. And, Murphy said, “His pace exceeds that of anyone we had before.”

Why is TLC down to just one person? “When you can do things the way Dave does …” Murphy replied with a grin.

Asked to describe a typical workday, Lipman said, “I just drive, and if I see something, I stop.” Over the course of a week, he tries to hit each hamlet. “I start off like that,” he said. “Doesn’t always end up that way.”

The day’s plan can hit detours. Lipman also responds to complaints registered through the town’s internet outlet, “Southampton Online Solutions.”

“Our online complaint platform often contains info about dumping of trash. Dave gets dispatched,” Schneiderman explained. “But he also is proactive. He seems to love what he does. He’s cleaning up the town.”

“We get the reports and they come through and I go,” Lipman said. Complaints with keywords like “litter” and “debris” are forwarded to him, and off he goes.

Lipman calls it “a nice, relaxing job.” An avid camper, he loves to be outdoors and appreciates the solitude. But he is quick to credit coworkers in other departments — the Parks Department, Highway Department and Community Preservation Fund managers — with helping him hit the high numbers. “They don’t hesitate to help me,” he said.

Sometimes the roadside trash is too heavy or bulky for one person, Lipman related, standing near the bed of his truck. It was already full on a recent Friday morning, with buckets of trash and a tall bedroom dresser. “It was just dumped on the side of the road,” he said.

Newcomers to the area don’t always realize the town doesn’t provide curbside garbage pickup.

The weirdest thing he’s found came from an apparent vehicle mishap — “I found a whole front suspension of a car — the tire, the drum, the brake, the struts, the whole nine yards. I had to call for help to get it in the back of the truck.” That was in Flanders, on a CPF preserved property.

The strangest place he’s deployed? Under the bridge in Sag Harbor.

“I didn’t even know there was a trail going down there,” he said. “And when I found out, oh Lord.”

Lipman was reluctant to say which hamlet is the messiest. Murphy noted that on long stretches of road, when trucks don’t have their caps covered, the wind blows trash out.

“I pick up what gets thrown out or blown out,” Lipman said.

Grabbing roadside trash with his trusty “picker” isn’t all Lipman does. He patrols beaches during the summer to pick up wood left behind from illegal bonfires and fireworks debris after July Fourth and is the go-to person to make sure locations where special events are slated — like the Ponquogue Bridge for Hampton Bays High School graduation — are spiffy. When there’s a carnival or fair, he’ll hit those spots after they end to restore tidiness.

In advance of storms, Lipman helps to do prestorm assessments. During storms, he helps identify sources of flooding and damage. “Even on those days when he obviously can’t go out and pick stuff up, he’s still out there serving a role,” Murphy said. He’s in the emergency operations center when it opens during heavy weather events.

Murphy was effusive in his praise for the staff member. “You never have to check that he’s done something. In just like some Dobby the house elf fashion, he’ll just appear and get it done. I really think that’s how it happens sometimes. He’s terrific.”

“I love the outdoors, and even when I’m out there camping on the weekends, I’m there with my picker cleaning up,” Lipman admitted. Clearly proud of the work he does, he concluded, “I hope the residents notice the difference since I started.”

Whether people take note of the job Lipman does or not, he said, “I’m having fun.” His enthusiasm and delight in his own toil calls to mind what Theodore Roosevelt said: “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”