Understanding Ways to Combat Beach Litter

Last weekend, at the same time as winds were whipping up to over 70 miles per hour and rain was coming down in buckets over the Jersey Shore, a large group of dedicated environmentalists and scientists were spending the day at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft to gain some insight and inspiration on better ways to combat the growing amount of beach litter.

The event was hosted by Clean Ocean Action in celebration for 25 years of their semiannual Beach Sweeps events that take place every spring and fall. Tavia Danch, the Pollution Prevention Coordinator for Clean Ocean Action, and Cindy Zipf, Executive Director for COA, and the rest of the staff did a magnificent job putting together the right mix of science policy, activism, and personal stories to make the seven hour symposium against beach litter a real worthwhile experience.

The list of speakers was impressive. Among others there was NJ State Senator Sean Kean, NJ State senator Barbara Buono, and John Weber of the Surfrider Foundation. The symposium keynote speaker was US  Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. who talked about how clean beaches are vital for the country's coastal economy, people's health and our physical environment.

(Cool art was on display from local Jersey Shore artist Lisa Bagwell who makes sculptures out of common beach trash items)

Perhaps the most fascinating talk was done by two scientists from Woods Hole, MA. Dr. Giora Proskurowski and Skye Moret-Ferguson From the Sea Education Association and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discussed their findings on the giant garbage patch in the North Atlantic Ocean, a lesser known relative to the large trash vortex in the Pacific Ocean. For more than 20 years, the two scientists have been carefully researching the ocean. They have found billions of bits of plastic accumulating in a massive garbage patch in the Atlantic Ocean that covers a region between 22 and 38 degrees north latitude—roughly the distance from Cuba to Virginia. Tiny pieces of trash, each less than a tenth the weight of a paper clip, make up most of the debris. In some places in the ocean, the scientists found more than 520,000 bits per square mile. The vast majority of the fragments coming from every-day consumer products that were blown out of open landfills or garbage cans, or were tossed out illegally by people. The scientists fear the Atlantic Ocean garbage patch poses a great threat to fish, birds and other marine animals that accidentally eat the litter.

(Dr. Giora Proskurowski and Skye Moret-Ferguson From the Sea Education Association and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were on hand to discuss the giant garbage patch in the North Atlantic Ocean, a lesser known relative to the large trash gyre in the Pacific Ocean)

The findings from the two Woods Hole Scientists relate closely to data collected by Clean Ocean Action over the last 25 years that shows an increase in plastic debris. Between 1993 and 2009, plastic garbage in the form of bottles, wrapping, bags, and lids and caps, accounted for  nearly 70 percent of all material collected by volunteers during Beach Sweeps events. This is a very distributing fact, and  clearly shows the need to end quickly the age of plastic trash.

(Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. talked about how clean beaches are vital for the country's coastal economy, people's health and our physical environment)

Another alarming fact is that cigarette butts and smoke continue to be a serious environmental problem. In reaction, NJ State Senator Barbara Buono from the 18th Legislative District has recently introduced a bill that would ban smoking at all public parks and beaches. This is an encouraging bill, as smoking kills more people each year than AIDS, alcohol use, cocaine use, heroin use, homicides, suicides, motor vehicle accidents and fires, combined. As the State Senator has said, "Cigarettes are legal and adults have the right choose whether they want to smoke, but they don't have a right to impose upon the non-smoking public the health risks and environmental degradation caused by smoking. Our public parks and beaches are paid for by taxpayers and should be available for use by everyone without having to worry about being harmed by the hazards associated with secondhand smoke." When you consider that on average over  41,000 cigarette butts are collected by beach sweeps volunteers every year there is no doubt that our society needs to act for people to stop treating our natural environment like an ashtray.

(Balloons are a dangerous form of beach trash that can kill many marine animals)

Since 1985, approximately 78,885 volunteers have picked up over 3,913,987 pieces of debris along Jersey Shore beaches, from Raritan Bay to Delaware Bay. Clean Ocean Action's Beach Sweep event has become the largest statewide environmental event in New Jersey.

If we truly wish to end beach litter, however, we all need to all work together and manage the way we consume and produce differently. The solutions to marine debris include everyone - business, government, community groups and individuals - all working together.

(From left to right, Mary-Beth Thompson, Operations Director for COA, David Byer, Esq, Water Policy Attorney for COA, and Tavia Danch, Pollution Prevention Coordinator for COA - Thanks for a very educational and inspirational event!)

Picking up trash at a Beach Sweep event twice a year is not the whole answer. Trash should not be in our waters in the first place. I know that people can be pigs, but that is not an excuse to end the war on trash. We need to further increase the fines on littering and educate people more on why it's not right to litter. We’re not animals people!! Take care of your trash and discarded items appropriately.

Some ways to help keep the Jersey Shore clean:

• Put trash in a secure, lidded receptacle.
• Properly recycle everything you can in your area.
• When boating, bring your trash back to shore, and ask your marina to handle waste properly.
• Less is more: Don't buy stuff you don't need, and choose items that use less packaging.
• Bring your own containers for picnics instead of using disposables.
• Take your own reusable bags whenever you go shopping.
• Write to companies or visit local businesses and encourage them to reuse, recycle, and generate less packaging.
• Put cigarette butts in ashtrays, not on streets, sidewalks, or beaches.
• Write to your elected officials and ask them to support policies that protect our ocean.

If you wish to take part in the next Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep event on Saturday, April 24, check out their website at: http://www.cleanoceanaction.org/index.php?id=37