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Additional information on this topic provided below. |
International Coastal Cleanup
By Kelly Meinhart
“Want to hear a dirty joke? Actually,
it’s no joke… Last year, during the International
Coastal Cleanup, volunteers picked up over 8 million pounds
of trash from our beaches and waterways. We found enough picnic
supplies for a family of four to have a picnic every day for
the next 60 years.”
 hat
comment comes directly from the Ocean Conservancy, the organizer
of the 18th annual International Coastal Cleanup Day, held Saturday
September 20th in all 55 states and territories and over 100
countries.
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he
Ocean Conservancy has been holding this event since 1986 when
it first took place along the Texas coastline. Back then 2,800
citizens participated in the event – in 2002 over 400,000
people took part in the effort. It’s now the largest single-day
volunteer event on behalf of marine environments.
he
clean up is unique in many ways, not only because it is an international
effort involving so many people from a variety of countries
– but also because the volunteers actually categorize
the debris they find. The debris volunteers pick up is logged
into data sheets that are then collected and compiled into an
international ‘snapshot’ of the types of garbage
found floating up to our shores, and what areas are being the
most impacted.
 n
review of the data from 2002, it appears that shoreline and
recreational activities account for 58% of all the trash found
with cigarette butts and smoking related debris making up 31%.
Cigarettes made #1 in the ‘Top Ten’ listing with
the 2002 count being 1,640,614 butts found– check
it out. Makes you think…
 ontinuing
with those statistics, the Ocean Conservancy’s website
lists all of their data from the 2002 clean up, and as you look
through it – it’s quite amazing to see the correlation
between the debris found, the amounts found, and the locations.
For example, the three states with the largest amount of trash
found were California, Florida and North Carolina. And the largest
concentration of debris found were things like food wrappers,
beverage bottles, cans, plastic ware and more. Check out the
listing for more
statistics.
 ll
of these plastic products cause havoc not only on the shoreline,
but in our open waters as well. For example, six pack holders
are extremely dangerous to birds and other wildlife that may
come into contact with them and get their heads or other extremities
entangled. Plastic bags, balloons, and straws are also deadly
to fish, birds and amphibians that might swallow them. In short,
everything we throw out will find its way somewhere else, and
not only pollute our waters but endangers our wildlife as well.
Check out the Ocean
Conservancy’s link to wildlife hazards.
 ennsylvania
has been taking part of the cleanup for several years, both
in Erie and in Philadelphia. This year, I traveled to Erie to
take part in the event. Although in years past the event was
only held at Erie’s Presque Isle State Park, this year
partnerships formed throughout Erie County to expand the effort
to 9 additional sites, including small local streams, headwaters,
communities areas, and more. In total, over 600 people combined
efforts to collect trash in Erie. And amazingly, it was accomplished
in only 3 hours!
 arah
Galloway, Watershed Specialist for Erie County, organized the
group cleaning up the headwaters of Mill Creek. Fourteen volunteers
from the local community as well as students from the Wattsburg
Middle School helped out to cover this section of the watershed.
Sarah comments “We were so excited to have expanded from
one to ten sites this year. The event was a huge success!”
You can hear more comments from Sarah by checking out her video
interview located at the beginning of the feature.
leaning
up the waters of Erie County requires looking beyond the shorelines
to the water itself. I was thrilled to meet up with Tammy and
John Roesseler, Jim Wise, and Dave Sailor, all four underwater
divers. The group put on their wet suits, tanks, and fins and
got into the Presque Isle Bay to retrieve garbage that had settled
to the bottom. They said they expected to find mostly bottles
and cans, and that they’ve been participating in the clean
up for a few years. Way to go above and beyond! Be sure to check
out the photo gallery to see the photos of the dive group.
nother
group that pulled their efforts together were the volunteers
from the marina association. In all, fourteen volunteers from
this organization got together to clean up the marina area,
which is a popular spot for fishermen and sports enthusiasts.
But as I found out, a lot of debris washes up in this area as
well. As you’ll see in the photo gallery, these folks
were finding innovative ways of removing the trash left behind.
But they also told me that they weren’t just logging the
types of garbage found on their data sheets – but making
mental notes as well to keep an eye out for people carrying
those particular items.
 ecause
as they continued, it’s up to everyone to keep our water
clean and free of garbage – sometimes it takes a gentle
reminder from your neighbors to get people to put trash where
it belongs.
 roups
alone didn’t accomplish the day’s work. Individuals
families and couples joined in as well and paired up with other
groups or went solo to get the job done.
f
you’re interested in participating in next years Coastal
Clean Up Day, be sure to check out the Ocean Conservancy’s
website for more details as well as the additional websites
listed below.
Congrats to all who participated in the Coastal Clean
Up 2003!
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| Click on the photo
to enlarge it. |
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For additional information visit
 Ocean
Conservancy’s Coastal Clean Up
DCNR
– Presque Isle State Park
Watersheds.tv
Between Cattails feature on Presque Isle State Park
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