STEVE JASIECKI/Volunteers set out for the 2019 Beach Sweep in Margate.
Semi-annual Beach Sweept to be held Oct. 23
Summer's over and it's time to clean up the beaches. The 37th annual Fall Beach Sweep will be held 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 22 at more than 70 locations in New Jersey. More than 5,000 volunteers are expected to participate in the semi-annual cleanup in shore towns across the state.
In the Atlantic County area, Atlantic City, Brigantine, Ventnor, Margate and Longport will be conducting the annual cleanup as follows:
Last year, over 10,000 volunteers welcomed the opportunity to gather safely, get outside, and give back by participating in the Beach Sweeps. As always, their hard work and diligent data collection provided COA with interesting insights about litter at the Jersey Shore, but thanks to the new and improved data card, we were able to track new items for the first time, including personal protective equipment, dental floss picks, e-cigarette waste, and more. This is the first step toward identifying solutions to prevent these latest ocean offenders' from littering our beaches," Watershed Program Manager Alison Jones said in a release.
Volunteers will collect data that is used in annual reports that have been used for over two decades as evidence of the need for strong policies and behavior changes to reduce litter and wasteful practices. Data collected in past years was instrumental in getting the NJ Single Use Plastic Waste Reduction Act passed.
Volunteers can register online at heep://cleanoceanaction.org/beach-sweeps/beach-sweep-registration-form. Clean-up supplies will be provided along with a card to record what you find on the beach.
For more information, see cleanoceanaction.org.
