Plastics still lead beach clean-up debris

ASBURY PARK – Plastics, from bottle caps to food wrappers, still lead the list of debris collected from the semi-annual Clean Ocean Action beach sweeps, organizers said Saturday during the most recent statewide cleanup.

As hundreds of volunteers combed beaches from Sandy Hook to Cape May to rid the sand and surf of trash and litter, leaders of the 39-year effort claim progress is being made, but not fast enough.

“The biggest things we are finding are plastic bottle caps, that has been a surge,” said Kira Cruz, the group’s debris-free sea coordinator. “But we do not see as many plastic bottles. People are negligent and just throw the bottle caps. It is fascinating. But plastic in general is always the highest.”

For the dozens of volunteers who showed up at the Asbury Park Boardwalk on Saturday, the goal was clean up and awareness.

“We have to help the community,” said Jennifer Colon, one of several Target employees who joined in. “Get the trash out of the beach and keep it clean.”

Her seven-year-old daughter, Jelinette, agreed: “When the trash gets in the ocean the fish eat it and that’s not good.”

Emily Diangson, beach captain for the Asbury Park group, said nearly 100 people had signed up for her section and more were registering as walk-ins: “The good weather really helps, it sparks a lot of support.”

Cruz said the cleanup events held every six months are not just one-day seaside spruce-ups. All debris collected is tabulated and the data analyzed to help plan for improvement programs.

After the last cleanup day in April, data released found that more than 70% of items collected were plastic, with bottle caps comprising the most. That marked a slight increase from 10 years earlier when plastics made up 67% of the beach trash recovered, data revealed.

Cruz said the data is not just collected for internal use but to plan for solutions and even proposed legislation.

“We advocate for policies and laws in New Jersey,” she said, noting that Clean Ocean Action reports were part of the effort that resulted in the recent state and local plastic bag and straw bans. “We are always working on the next thing.”

The so-called “Dirty Dozen,” the top 12 most collected items include: plastic bottle caps and lids, food wrappers and bags, plastic pieces, cigarette filters, straws and stirrers, foam pieces, plastic drink bottles, plastic cigar tips, paper pieces, metal beverage cans, glass pieces, and other plastics.

“It ebbs and flows,” said Cruz. “With Covid we saw a hike in face masks and gloves, but they all have declined. Certain things have phased out.”

Then there is the group’s “Roster of the Ridiculous,” which offers some of the most unusual items collected on the beach sweeps.

In the last 2023 report, the list included: a child’s small plastic slide, a golf cart wheel, basketball hoop and several car parts – from an auto bumper to a gas tank.

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 35 years’ experience who covers Lakewood and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of four books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter and TruthSocial at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Plastics still lead beach clean-up debris