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This year’s Coastal Cleanup will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Sept. 15. This is the 21st year Delaware is participating in the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines and lakes by volunteers.
A key component of Coastal Cleanup is the volunteers, and Coastal Cleanup needs a lot of volunteers. The cleanup spans the state’s 97-mile eastern coastline and includes river and ocean shorelines as well as wetland and watershed areas. This year more than 45 sites, which cover New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, are being targeted.
Everyone from youth groups and businesses to families and individuals are encouraged to volunteer. Register online at www.dnrec.delaware.gov or over the phone by calling Jennifer Hall, Coastal Cleanup coordinator, at 302-739-9906.
When volunteers report to their site, they are given data cards to record the number and type of trash they pick up.
This information tells what kind of activities produce the trash and where Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) can focus its attention when it comes to creating pollution prevention policy.
Last year almost 12,000 pounds of trash were collected. Cigarettes were the number one item collected; volunteers picked up 15,351 cigarette butts. Some other interesting items picked up were a shopping cart, keys, furniture and motor parts.
The Delaware cleanup is just one part of the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by The Ocean Conservancy, which provides trash bags, data cards and pencils. It is also cosponsored by Delmarva Power, which provides collectible T-shirts for the participants. Delmarva Power has sponsored the regional Coastal Cleanup for 17 consecutive years. DNREC is responsible for organizing the event, recruiting volunteers, distributing supplies, ensuring trash removal and tabulating all the data collected. Many municipalities help with the trash pick-up.
The Ocean Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that has been working since 1972 to ensure that the world’s oceans provide a healthy environment for an abundant and diverse population of marine animals.
The International Coastal Cleanup is the conservancy’s flagship program dealing with marine debris and data collection. It is the oldest and largest one-day volunteer effort on behalf of the marine environment.
Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world help each year to rid the environment of marine debris and collect detailed information on the types and quantities of refuse. The Delaware Coastal Cleanup is just one way local volunteers can take part in an international effort to be good stewards of their corner of the world.
A rain date is set for Saturday, Sept. 22. Any postponement of the cleanup to the rain date would be announced via local radio stations the day before.
For more information, please call Jennifer Hall, 302-739-9906 or go to DNREC’s website, www.dnrec.delaware.gov.
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