Shutterstock/Beach Cleanup.
In past years, all three Downbeach towns united for the Clean Ocean Action Spring Beach Sweep. This year, only Margate will hold the cleanup in conjunction with Clean Ocean Action’s planned statewide cleanup on April 13.
Ventnor has chosen to hold an Earth Day sweep on April 27, and Longport has cancelled its cleanup until it can provide volunteers with safe access to its newly engineered beach.
Margate will be holding its cleanup in conjunction with Clean Ocean Action, which enlists the help of thousands of volunteers in more than 60 locations across the state. Last year, 10,000 volunteers collected more than 450,000 pieces of trash and debris, of which nearly 82% was plastic or foam plastic, a slight decrease from the prior year, according to Clean Ocean Action’s 2018 Beach Sweep Report.
The organization holds beach cleanups twice a year in spring and fall and counts and classifies every piece of debris collected. According to the report, 32.6% more trash is collected in spring than in fall, and the number of straws and stirrers are 10.25% higher in fall than spring.
In 2018, volunteers collected 35% more plastic pieces and 39% more plastic bottles than it did in 2017.
Despite numerous coastal communities banning the release of plastic balloons, balloons increased 32% over the amount collected in 2017. Substantial decreases were noted for cigarette filters, tires, metal fishing sinkers and 55-gallon drums.
On its Roster of Ridiculous, items collected included a $10 bill, 1930s rail token, counterfeit $100 bill, bottle of urine, door from a safe, PortaPotty door, religious statue, shotgun shells, air conditioning unit, a sink, a toilet and a vacuum cleaner. Army men, Barbie dolls, stuffed animals and plastic farm animals are often found on the beach.
Click here to read the full report.
Margate residents are asked to meet on the beach at Granville Avenue at 9 a.m. for the sweep that continues until noon. Gloves, bags and a limited number of grabbers will be available. Volunteers are asked to return trash and grabbers to the same location. This year, the event is being co-sponsored by Flynn’s Bins, a valet trash service operating in Margate. Groups and families are welcome.
For more information, call Anthony Edge of Margate Public Works at 609-822-5038 or email aedge@margate-nj.com.
According to Green Committee Chairwoman Diane Birkbeck, Ventnor will do a bayside cleanup 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 27 to satisfy a requirement in a grant the Atlantic County Utilities Authority received to assist the city in purchasing 95-gallon trash and recycling containers for every household in Ventnor.
“We are doing it in conjunction with the rollout of the trash and recycling containers, which is a requirement for the grant that the ACUA received on our behalf,” Birkbeck said.
The Ventnor team of volunteers will clean up the bayside area along Wellington Avenue, she said.
“Our beaches are regularly cleaned up by our professionals in the Public Works Department,” Birkbeck said. “But we wanted to concentrate on the bayside area, where they don’t regularly clean. Lots of trash collects along the road and eventually winds up in the ocean following the rising tides, posing a danger to marine life.”
The Ventnor Earth Day event starts with volunteers meeting at Ventnor Plaza shopping center at 9:30. They will fan out to different areas along Wellington Avenue and other bayfront areas. T-shirts and supplies will be provided. Wearing long sleeves and closed-toe, waterproof shoes is recommended. Lunch will be provided for volunteers following the cleanup at the Ventnor Community Center, 6500 Atlantic Ave. Registration is available at acua.com/ventnorcleanup.
The city is also conducting a shredding event and children’s activities 10 a.m. to noon at the S. Newport Avenue gazebo next to the Community Center. Residents can bring up to two boxes of material for shredding. Children’s activities include a meet up with Supercan, the ACUA mascot, and a Touch-a-Truck experience.
Both events will be held rain or shine, Birkbeck said.
Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo said the borough cancelled its cleanup because it has not received a permit from the DEP to maintain the beach. The borough recently submitted to the DEP its Community Access Plan, a pre-requisite to receiving a Beach Maintenance Permit, but until it’s approved, the borough cannot maintain the beach.
The Community Access plan is “married” to the Beach Maintenance Plan, which has yet to be issued, Russo said.
“Not having a permit limits our ability to maintain the beach and therefore, we cannot provide volunteers with safe access to the dune crossovers, which are covered with blowing beach sand, and there are no blue mats to walk on,” he said.
Russo said the sand that has collected on top of the gravel walkways over the dune provides an uneven surface to climb, he said.
“Because of the unsafe condition, I made the decision to cancel this activity,” he said.
The borough received a temporary emergency beach maintenance permit last week, and Public Works will soon begin to clean up the crossovers, he said.
