Over 350,000 Pieces of Debris Removed During 2012 New Jersey Beach Sweeps

Clean Ocean Action coordinated beach sweeps

Clean Ocean Action (COA) has released its 2012 Beach Sweeps report and announced that over 350,000 pieces of debris were removed from New Jersey beaches in 2012. In April and October, 6,926 volunteers gathered at various beaches and collected the debris so it could tabulated by COA. COA Education Program Manager Tavia Danch said the majority of the debris removed was disposable plastics. Danch said the items collected most were cigarette filters and that the number gathered increased by 47 percent over 2011's totals. However, Danch said the number of other items gathered including glass, lumber and plastic wrappers showed a decrease from 2011. She said some unusual items were also collected this year including a girdle, magic wand, fortune…

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Hurricane Sandy

Waves of Action Cleanups Continue

The Clean Ocean Action program hosted another series of cleanups throughout New York and New Jersey.

More than a thousand volunteers belonging to 27 organizations participated in Clean Ocean Action's fourth Wave of Action for the Shore event Saturday by clearing out debris and attempting to restore ecosystems in 30 locations throughout New York and New Jersey.  Volunteers cleaned out marshes in Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway, in Tuckerton and areas of Brigantine. Other groups removed debris from waterways in Long Branch, Deal and Neptune, among others.  Other park cleanups were held in Matawan, Jackson, Long Branch, West Long Branch, and Sandy Hook bays. Volunteers also installed a new osprey nesting platform in Stafford Township, according to a release. The Waves of Action program is a response to the impact of Hurricane …

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Hurricane Sandy

Clean Ocean Action Announces Waves of Action Program

Environmental organization Clean Ocean Action announced a Jersey Shore restoration effort known as Waves of Action.

In the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy, Clean Ocean Action sees an  opportunity. As the Jersey Shore makes its comeback, the environmental advocacy group promises it will be there to help now and in the future while shepherding in a movement of responsible restoration. The organization recently announced a new year-long program called Waves of Action. The program was launched to respond to immediate and ongoing needs of coastal towns impacted by Sandy. With a slew of events already scheduled throughout the year, Waves of Action is hoping to pair willing volunteers with communities that still need digging out, habitats that need restoration, and forums designed to provide education about a sustainable future coastline. Clean Ocean …

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Beach Sweeps in Point Boro, Point Beach on Saturday

Clean Ocean Action's twice-yearly event is in its 28th year and still welcoming volunteers young and old

Another summer has come and gone, filled with days of laughter, sunshine and relaxation at the beach. While the parties have gone, the reminders of them -- caps from water bottles and soda, straws from drinks, and hundreds of other bits of debris -- remain behind. This Saturday, hundreds of volunteers will be hitting the state's beaches from Sandy Hook to Cape May to pick up plastics, Styrofoam, cans and much more, left behind by humans and the tides, as part of Clean Ocean Action's fall Beach Sweeps event. In the Point area, the Sweeps will be done at four sites: Point Pleasant Beach: Jenkinson's Aquarium on the Boardwalk and the Maryland Avenue beach on the south end next to Bay Head In Point Pleasant Borough: Maxson Avenue and River …

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Tour For The Shore Aims to Protect Jersey Shoreline from Industry

Bicyclist and kayaker crusading to bring awareness to Clean Ocean Action's offshore oil drilling fight

It hasn’t been the easiest trip she’s ever made, but for Margo Pellegrino, it’s one of the most important. “This is about my home turf,” she said, gesturing to the map of the New Jersey-New York shoreline and a stretch of the Atlantic Ocean labeled “Clean Ocean Zone.” It’s a portion of the ocean that Clean Ocean Action, the New Jersey-based grass roots environmental group, has fighting for years to keep free of pollution and uses that it contends would be damaging to the environment. Now, the organization is trying to convince federal lawmakers to take the steps necessary to forever block any attempts to industrialize that portion of the ocean, including things like offshore drilling and transfer terminals for liquefied natural gas. …

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It's Sweep Time at the Beaches

Clean Ocean Action's twice-yearly event is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at sites all along the coastline

In the 1970s, there was a television ad that depicted a stream choked with trash – aluminum cans and old tires, among other things – and the ad would cut away at the end to a Native American man with a tear running down his cheek. The ads, of course, urged people not to litter, because of what it was doing to the environment. If those ads were done today in New Jersey, the Indian would be a Lenni Lenape, and he’d be standing on a shoreline choked with plastic bottles and caps, because those are the most commonly discarded items on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, according to Clean Ocean Action. Clean Ocean Action’s twice-yearly beach sweeps are set for Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m. at sites up and down the coast, from Sandy Hook to…

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