April 04, 2024
Ron Lach/Pexels.com
Each year, environmental group Clean Ocean Action sponsors beach sweep events to clean up trash from New Jersey's coastline. Last year, thousands of 3,664 volunteers helped clear 176,206 pieces of debris.
Volunteers who combed New Jersey's beaches last year picked up more than 176,000 pieces of litter and other debris, collecting an assortment of unusual items as part of an annual program led by the environmental group Clean Ocean Action.
The organization based in Long Branch released a report on Thursday detailing the work done at 75 sites up and down New Jersey's 127-mile coastline. The group draws volunteers from a variety of partner organizations to gather trash and recycle as much of it as possible. The beach sweeps have been taking place since 1985 and have removed nearly 8.5 million pieces of trash from the environment.
Among the heaps of litter and lost belongings picked up last year, 79.16% of the debris collected was either plastic or foam plastic — the first time that number has fallen below 80% since 2015.
Clean Ocean Action keeps track of various categories of litter in order to monitor state progress and advocate for legislation that reduces plastic litter, which is often swept out to sea and poses threats to wildlife. The most common groups of trash found last year were plastic bottle caps and lids, food wrappers and bags, plastic fragments, cigarette butts and straws.
Most of the personal items found on beaches were the kinds of things that forgetful people would be expected to leave behind. But the report has a "roster of the ridiculous" that lists some of the strangest items collected, with notable finds including:
• Whoopie cushion
• Voodoo doll
• "Simpsons" drug bag
• Internet router
• Squishy eyeballs
• Auto gas tank
• Baby Yoda doll
• Valentine's Day chocolate box
• Child car seat
• Dental paste
• Surgical waste
The organization is encouraged by the progress New Jersey has made reducing plastic bag litter, in part due to the implementation of the Single-Use Waste Reduction Act. Since May 2022, the law has prohibited retailers from distributing single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam containers for food. That year, plastic bags fell out of the organization's "dirty dozen" items that make up the most commonly collected pieces of beach trash for the first time since 2007. They've decreased by about 37% since 2021, according to the report.
Last year, 3,664 volunteers took part in beach sweeps that covered the coast, bay shores, inland rivers, streams and the Delaware River. The statewide beach sweeps are held twice each year in the spring and fall. The 2024 dates are scheduled for Saturday, April 13, and Saturday, Oct. 19.
