Bottles are a Blight on the Banks of the Delaware River

Students and teachers from Hightstown High School celebrated Earth Month by participating in a Delaware River Sweep with COA on Saturday, April 6. This was the third cleanup held at a site along Lamberton Rd in Trenton, which is one of several plastic litter hotspot areas along the Delaware River that COA has been focusing on as part of the Delaware Sweeps. In just a few hours, 22 volunteers collected 3,036 pieces of debris from a small area along the riverbank. Volunteers from Hightstown High School collected 2,721 pieces of plastic and foam and strange items such as a foam turtle mask, Nerf darts, a mattress, and a toy golf putter. Astoundingly, nearly 90% of the debris collected was plastic, and plastic beverage bottles were the most common item, with 733 bottles removed from the site.

Before and after photos of a small are of the cleanup location demonstrate the severity of the problem and the impressive work of the volunteers