Plastics continue to be among the top items of litter along the Jersey Shore. This plastic bottle was found at Bayshore Waterfront Park in Middletown.
By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY– Despite challenges presenteAd by COVID-19, Clean Ocean Action (COA) volunteers were still able to collect more than 185,000 items of debris along the Jersey Shore last fall as part of the organization Beach Sweep.
And for the first time throughout COA’s 35-year history hosting these bi-annual cleanups – typically each April and October – a significant amount of debris included personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the ongoing pandemic. That was just one of many findings announced April 7 during the organization’s virtual press conference unveiling data from last year’s fall cleanup.
“I look forward to the day when there aren’t any more beach sweeps because there’s no need to have a beach sweep; that we human beings are treating our resources responsibly and that we have systems in place to keep these plastics out of the environment,” said state Sen. Bob Smith (D-17), who attended the virtual press conference. “Why do we have to be the dirty animals on the planet?”
COA’s Beach Sweeps are the state’s largest volunteer-driven, citizen-science and environmental event, the organization states. The cleanups were held at 60 sites along the coast during the fall sweep last year, ranging from Perth Amboy to Cape May, with additional sites along the Delaware River and in northern New Jersey.
When COA first started its cleanups in the 1980s, there was much more litter riddled along the shore. According to COA’s executive director Cindy Zipf, beachgoers could find “ankle-deep” levels of garbage washing up on the shores. It was impacting the state’s tourism industry and COA was not the only organization making a call to action. Some municipalities began introducing Styrofoam and plastics bans and limitations.
“People were having to push the trash away in order to get to the beach,” said Zipf.
When the sweeps first began, COA volunteers found the top sources of pollution were medical waste, crack vials and feminine product applicators. In the 1990s, cigarette filters were the dominant source of pollution along with cassette tapes and film cannisters. By the 2000s, more plastic caps and lids were washing up along with food and candy wrappers. And in the 2010s, the debris shifted to include even more plastics. Since 1985, at least 7,424,453 pieces of trash have been removed during these sweeps thanks to 147,860 volunteers over 864,688 donated hours.
Tallying the results each year with data cards has been vital in creating the evidence necessary to bring change through legislation. That work has made New Jersey a national leader in fighting plastic use, enacting laws that ban single-use plastics. And according to Smith, that work is not slowing down. He and others are currently working on legislation to establish requirements on how much recycled content should be in products like glass bottles, paper products, containers and more. This is important to help set up a valuable recycling market, he said.
“We, human beings, are literally eating and breathing this plastic material into our bodies. And if somebody wants to do a real thorough autopsy on one of us when we’ve passed, you’re going to find a lot of plastics,” said Smith, who chairs the state Environmental and Energy Committee.
Looking at the most recent findings from the fall 2020 Beach Sweep, the most commonly collected item of debris was again plastic pieces, including foam, which made up about 79 percent of trash collected. The other most commonly found items among the “Dirty Dozen” list were plastic lids and cups; food, candy wrappers and bags; cigarette filters; straws and stirrers; foam pieces; plastic beverage and soda bottles; paper pieces; glass pieces; cigar tips; lumber pieces; and metal beverage cans.
According to COA, the top three items in the Dirty Dozen have remained the same since 2015. New items in the top 12 included paper pieces as well as metal beverage cans, which have not been on the list since 2008, according to Alison Jones, watershed program coordinator.
Some of the more unusual findings from the 2020 fall sweep included a kitty litter scoop, AirPods, a foam tombstone, a New Year’s Eve party hat, a cocktail shaker, a lawnmower and a Trump 2020 flag, Jones said.
PPE was new to COA’s data card in 2020. A total of 1,113 equipment pieces were collected, including 680 face masks, 92 disposable wipes and 341 unspecified types of PPE, according to Jones. New categories have since been added for the upcoming 2021 data cards including e-cigarette waste such as cartridges, caps and pens; dog waste bags; cotton swab sticks; dental floss picks; and disposable wipes. The PPE category has also been broken down into disposable masks, reusable masks and disposable gloves.
“The data from our Beach Sweeps is the evidence of the plastic pollution problem that is persistent along our shores, New Jersey and beyond,” said Kari Martin, COA’s advocacy campaign manager. She encouraged people to refuse plastic items, adding a fourth “R,” “Refuse,” to the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” mantra.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Saturday, April 17 spring Beach Sweep, Jones encouraged volunteers and participants to BYOB – Bring Your Own Bucket – to collect debris in. It will help COA reduce its use of plastic at the Beach Sweeps, she said.
As of April 13, nearly 4,000 volunteers had registered for the spring sweep, held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at over 60 locations. COVID-19 safety protocols will be implemented and all volunteers will be wearing masks and social distancing. Pre-registration is required and can be completed through COA’s website, cleanoceanaction.org.
This article originally appeared in the April 15, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
