Over
60 Beach Sweeps locations along the shore and beyond!
Nearly 6000 volunteers gathered on Saturday, October 26, 2019
from 9:00am – 12:30pm at over 60 New Jersey beaches and waterways to remove
harmful debris at Clean Ocean Action’s (COA) 34th
Annual Fall Beach Sweeps. Enthusiastic volunteers spent the day cleaning,
collecting and tabulating debris that they removed from shorelines from Bergen
to Cape May Counties. The data produced from this event is combined with the
data from the Spring Beach Sweeps that was held on April 13, 2019 and will
be publicized in an annual report that provides a
deeper exploration into the pollution issues throughout the Jersey Shore. The
2019 Annual Beach Sweeps Report will be released in April 2020, prior to the 35th
Annual Spring Beach Sweep. To view data presented in the 2018 Annual Report,
visit CleanOceanAction.org.
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Congressman
Frank Pallone, Jr., Chairman of the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce addressing the
crowd at the Beach Sweeps kick-off rally on Sandy Hook
Click
here to listen to Frank Pallone’s speech at the rally.
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Beach Sweeps help reduce debris from entering waterways,
where they become harmful and even lethal to aquatic life. The data from the
Beach Sweeps turns a one-day event into a legacy of information to improve
public awareness, change wasteful habits, enforce litter laws and improve
policies to reduce sources of marine debris. Marine debris is a human caused,
human solved issue.
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Clean Ocean Action’s Coastal Watershed
Protection Coordinator Alison McCarthy discussing how Beach Sweeps data is used
at the Sandy Hook, NJ kick-off rally
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“The enthusiasm for cleaning our beaches seems to be
growing with every Beach Sweep, and we are grateful for the thousands of
volunteers who committed their Saturday morning to collecting and categorizing
marine debris. With every piece of debris picked up, the ocean becomes safer
for marine life, and the data collected creates a lasting legacy of each
volunteer’s effort," stated Alison
McCarthy, Coastal Watershed Protection Coordinator, Clean Ocean Action.
“The Beach Sweeps is an empowering event. It’s not
only a wake-up call to the small and the tall about the plastic plague in the ocean, but provides them a way to make a difference by improving
the ocean and beaches they enjoy so much. The data they collect is essential. Over the years it has been
used to reduce sources of debris and single use plastics through local, state, and federal actions,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director, Clean Ocean Action.
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Sandy
Hook, NJ Beach Sweeps
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Below
are preliminary results from Sandy Hook collected by
over 700 volunteers, including the top five items:
(1) – 10,033
Plastic pieces
(2) – 6,569
Plastic caps/lids
(3) – 4,633
Food/candy wrappers
(4) – 3,824
Plastic straws/stirrers
(5) – 1,894
Foam pieces
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Miniature liquor bottles collected at the Ideal Beach
Sweep in Middletown, NJ
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Throughout Beach Sweeps,
volunteers are encouraged to note any out-of-the-ordinary finds. COA labels
these finds as “The Roster of the Ridiculous”. Some of the items catalogued
today included: a bike helmet, bra strap, butter container, car seat,
dental retainer, hard hat, railroad tie, sneaker, snowman doll, soy sauce
packets, squid toy, swim goggles, tire, and a Wonder Woman figurine.
“Myself
and 59 other MAST students are here to aid the volunteers and help run this
Beach Sweep. I want to thank all of the volunteers for coming today to take
care of our beaches out here on Sandy Hook. You are not only helping to remove
litter from our beaches but also helping Clean Ocean Action and students like
myself by providing us with data from today that will aid me in my research on
marine debris,” said Sydney Kodama, Beach Sweeps
Coordinator, High School Student, Marine Academy of Science and Technology
(MAST).
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Holy Cross
Academy showed up with an army of over 30 people to clean the beach - the
largest group ever at Anchorage Beach in Sea Bright, NJ!
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Middlesex
County College at the Raritan Waterfront Beach Sweep in South Amboy, NJ
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Enthusiastic
first-timer Beach Sweepers Mija, Owen and Noah Maldonado at The Glen Gazebo
Brook in Glen Ridge, NJ
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COA’s volunteer Beach
Captains are there to direct to the hub of volunteers and individual
participates at each site. These Captains lead the cleanup effort and are indispensable
to the overall success of the program.
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Beach
Captain Mickey Schluter and his Stockton University classmates at the Atlantic
City Beach Sweeps
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Almost 50
volunteers turned out to clean the beach in Atlantic City, NJ
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“I
decided to become a beach captain because keeping the ocean clean and taking
preventative measures to assure our oceans and waterways are clean and
healthier are extremely important to me. Today we had beautiful weather and
over 45 enthusiastic volunteers who did a great job cleaning the beach and
recording the data. What inspired me was the sheer amount of people from
various backgrounds and organizations coming together to help fight ocean
pollution as well as the fact that people are becoming more and more familiar
with the plastic pollution epidemic,” exclaimed Mickey Schluter,
Atlantic City Beach Captain from Stockton University and former Clean Ocean
Action intern.
“I recently moved to Keansburg and immediately knew I wanted
to be involved in keeping these local beaches clean. This is my first time
being a part of this statewide beach sweep and also my first time being a beach
captain. I was attracted to the idea of being a beach captain because I fully
support the mission and the vision of Clean Ocean Action and thought this would
be a good way to contribute to the cause. We had a good turnout at Ideal Beach
in Middletown and our hardworking volunteers collected over 100 pounds in
trash,” stated Liam Hobbie, Ideal Beach Captain.
"We were thrilled to welcome over 40 students from Weehawken
High School’s Climate Club. Our youngest volunteer was 7 weeks old. I’ve been a
beach captain for two years (4 beach sweeps), and this is by far our biggest
turn out - and best weather! As a teacher, it is my duty to provide learning
opportunities. Beach Sweeps allow people of every age and ability to learn by
doing- today picking up trash wasn’t a chore, it was an opportunity to learn
how human behavior pollutes local environments," exclaimed Stephanie Kealy, Popamora Point Beach Captain.
With gratitude, Clean Ocean Action thanks Absolut Vodka,
Bank of America, Comcast, and ShopRite for their 2019 Beach Sweeps Statewide
Sponsorships. The Fall Beach Sweeps are made possible by support from many
generous supporters. (see below)
“Our
store associates understand the importance of working together to be more
sustainable and to take care of our customers,” said Suzanne Forbes,
ShopRite’s Sustainability Administrator. “But we all need to work
together if we want to preserve our planet. Clean Ocean Action’s annual Beach
Sweeps event is a wonderful reminder of the power of teamwork. By working
together to clean up our environment, we really can make a difference.”
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L to R:
Clean Ocean Action’s Coastal Watershed Protection Coordinator Alison McCarthy;
Bank of America’s Senior Vice President, NJ Market Etta Rudolf Denk, MPA; with
Clean Ocean Action’s Program and Resource Coordinator, Spencer Munson
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“Keeping our beaches and waterways
clean helps to protect our environment here in New Jersey. Bank of America is
proud to have dedicated teammates volunteer for Clean Ocean Action’s Beach
Sweeps and help to create a cleaner and more sustainable New Jersey,” said Etta
Denk, Sr. Vice President, NJ Market Manager, Bank of America.
“Comcast is proud to support Clean Ocean Action’s year-round initiatives to give back to local communities up and down the Jersey Shore,” said Stephanie Kosta, Vice President of Government Affairs, Comcast Freedom Region. “Whether volunteering in Beach Sweeps as part of Comcast Cares Day each spring or through grant funding from the Comcast Foundation, it is incredible to see how we can drive meaningful change by working together to make a positive difference.”
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Bring Your Own Bucket (BYOB) at the Brick Beach Sweeps
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Nine-year old Landon Crinnian convinced his parents to
come to the Island Beach State Park Beach Sweeps
Waves of thanks to all of our wonderful volunteers, from
the small to the tall, who participated in today’s Beach Sweeps! Together we
can all make a difference for a cleaner ocean to be enjoyed by generations to
come simply by picking up litter whenever and wherever we see it. For example,
a piece of debris found on a central or northern New Jersey street can travel
downstream and eventually end-up in the ocean.
Inlet Beach Sweeps in
North Wildwood, NJ
Ortley
Beach captains with their pet pig, Hamlet
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Special Thanks:
2019 County Sponsors:
Caesars Entertainment, Enterprise, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Hackensack
Meridian Health, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Jersey Central Power &
Light, Kohl’s, Montecalvo Material Recovery Facility
2019 Site Sponsors:
Bank of America, Baine Contracting, ComcastCares, OceanFirst Bank, Royal Bank
of Canada (RBC), SERVPro of Eatontown and Long Branch, ServPro of
Howell/Wall, Torcon, Inc.
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2019 Supporting Businesses: Asbury
Park Roastery, Atlantic Bagel Co., Bookserdoo, Coffee Surf Co, D'Alessio's
Bagel Express, Jersey Shore Coffee Roasters, L.P., NuStar Energy, Ricoh USA,
Rotary Club Interact, Water Witch Coffee
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