September 16th was International Coastal Cleanup Day. We encouraged people to cleanup their favorite local beaches and the results were staggering....
80 Volunteers went to 23 Beaches
1945 Minutes Cleaning Up
231 Balloons
112 Aluminum Cans
937 Cigarette Butts
33 Glass Bottles
132 Plastic Bottles
408 Plastic Bottle Caps
116 Plastic Shopping Bags
216 Plastic Straws
5 Buoys
47 Feet of fishing Line
28 Nets
127 Ropes
64 Shotgun Shells
11 Tampon Applicators
62 Plastic Cups
9 Plastic Flossers
553 Total Pounds of Trash
Favorite item found: A Sewing Machine...
We also uniquely partnered with the Town of Southampton for this cleanup. Storm surges and coastal erosion have eroded our roads, leaving clumps of asphalt on the beach. Spearheaded by Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, we were able to remove a fraction of those asphalt clumps, leaving only sand on our beaches.
Here are some of the photos of our participants of ICCD:
The following week, we displayed the results of our International Coastal Cleanup Day at our screening "A Plastic Ocean" at Southampton Arts Center. Our goal was to educate the community about what kinds of things we find on our beaches and in what volume, hoping that people will recognize an item or two they can life without...
Here are some photos of our trash on display at Southampton Arts Center:
This is Stinky Steve, our plastic scarecrow.
We are dedicated to the reduction of single-use items, especially plastics, and educating the public about the impacts of pollution on our seas. Thank you to those who acted as the boots on the ground in our most successful beach cleanup yet.
If you are interested in volunteering with the chapter for efforts to reduce single use plastics, like straws or plastic utensils, or if you'd like to organize a cleanup, please contact chenn@surfrider.org.