Clean Ocean Action Spring Beach Sweep!

It is that time of year again!

Clean Ocean Action is holding their beach clean ups on Saturday April 17, from 9- 12:30 like usual.

There are a few things that are done differently due to the pandemic. All persons attending MUST register before they come, and sign a waiver. (Minors must have a parent/guardian register for them, you cannot register for a group anymore as each person needs to sign a waiver!)

Besides that, please wear a mask and bring gloves and social distance per our state’s guidelines, choose an arrival time (9 am or 10am) and then carry on saving the environment like you always do!

Register here, read the FAQs here, and find a full list of locations here!

Hope to see you all on our beautiful expansive beaches for some social distance, save the environment awesomeness!

Here are Atlantic County and Cape May County locations:

CAPE MAY COUNTY

• Avalon – 30th St W and Avalon Ave (Avalon Beach Patrol, 3001 Avalon Ave, Avalon NJ 08202)
• Cape May 
  • Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204)
  • 2nd Avenue Beach (Jetty Motel: 2nd Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204) Sponsored by OceanFirst Foundation
• North Wildwood – Hereford Inlet Beach (Gazebo at 1st Ave and Surf Ave)
• Sea Isle City – JFK Blvd & Promenade (**this cleanup starts at 10 am)
• Stone Harbor – 95th Street Beach
• Villas – Beach at Village Rd and Bay Dr
• Wildwood Crest – Centennial Park (6700 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260)
• Wildwood – Poplar Ave

ATLANTIC COUNTY

• Brigantine – 17th St. Beach, South (Brigantine Beach Patrol, 1700 17th Street, Brigantine, NJ 08203)
• Longport – 33rd and Atlantic Ave
• Margate – Granville Ave
• Ventnor City – Newport Avenue Beach (Community Building: 6500 Atlantic Ave, Ventnor City, NJ 08406)

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COA Spring Beach Clean UP

Getttttttttt readyyyyyyyy!!!!!

The daffodils are finally growing, which must mean spring is on the way (and hopefully some sunny beach days too!)

Join us for Clean Ocean Action’s Spring Beach Clean up, Saturday April 13th from 9am-noon on Poplar Ave and the sand, in Wildwood NJ.

Or check out another awesome location along the Jersey shore, and get your beach clean up on there 🙂

Hope to see you on the sand!

 

ATLANTIC COUNTY

• Atlantic City – Sponsored by Atlantic City Electric
  
  • S Missouri Ave Boardwalk
  • Gardner’s Basin  (Park at Gardner’s Basin, 800 North New Hampshire Ave; meet at Public access Caspian Ave and N. Maine Ave.)
• Brigantine – 17th St. Beach, South (Brigantine Beach Patrol, 1700 17th Street, Brigantine, NJ 08203)
• Galloway – Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (800 Great Creek Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205)
• Longport – 33rd and Atlantic Ave Beach (3210 Atlantic Ave, Longport NJ 08403)
• Margate – Granville Ave (Martin Bloom Community Pavilion)
• Ventnor City – Newport Avenue Beach (Community Building: 6500 Atlantic Ave, Ventnor City, NJ 08406)

BERGEN COUNTY

• Englewood Cliffs – Englewood Picnic Area/Boat Basin at Palisades Interstate Park (GPS: 40.875925, -73.946678)

BURLINGTON COUNTY

• Palmyra – Palmyra Cove Nature Park (1335 Route 73 South, Palmyra, NJ 08065) **This cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 6th

CAPE MAY COUNTY

• Avalon – 8th St W and Avalon Ave (801 Avalon Ave, Avalon NJ 08202)
• Cape May 
  • Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204) Sponsored by ComcastCares
  • 2nd Avenue Beach (Jetty Motel: 2nd Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204)
• Cape May Point – Sunset Beach (502 Sunset Blvd, Cape May Point, NJ 08212)
• North Wildwood
  • E 16th Ave beach (Beach Patrol building)
  • Hereford Inlet Beach (Gazebo at 1st Ave and Surf Ave)
• Ocean City – Ocean City Music Pier (825 Boardwalk, Ocean City, NJ 08226) Sponsored by ComcastCares **This cleanup will be held on Saturday, April 27th** 
• Sea Isle City – JFK Boulevard
• Stone Harbor – 95th Street Beach
• Villas – Village Rd. and Bay Drive
• Wildwood – Poplar Avenue Beach (Groff’s Restaurant – 423 E. Magnolia Avenue, Wildwood, NJ 08260) Sponsored by ComcastCares
• Wildwood Crest – Centennial Park (6700 Atlantic Ave., Wildwood Crest, NJ 08260)

ESSEX COUNTY

• Glen Ridge/Montclair
  • Glenfield Park (meet at park entrance at Woodland Avenue and Pierson Place)
  • “The Glen” (at Bloomfield and Ridgewood Avenue)  

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

• South Amboy/Sayreville – Raritan Bay Waterfront Park (John T O’Leary Blvd, South Amboy NJ 08879)

MONMOUTH COUNTY

• Aberdeen – Fisherman’s Parking Lot at Cliffwood Beach (967 Ocean Blvd, Aberdeen Twp NJ; across from roller rink at Veteran’s Memorial Park)
• Asbury Park – 
  • Convention Hall – North End of Convention Hall at Boardwalk  (1300 Ocean Avenue, New Jersey, 07712) Sponsored by Can’D Aid Foundation, Jersey Central Power & Light and NuStar Energy
  • North Beach – 7th Ave Boardwalk
• Atlantic Highlands –
  • First Ave beach (Seastreak parking lot)
  • Popamora Point (369 Shore Dr, Highlands NJ 07732)
• Avon-by-the-Sea – Avon Pavilion at Norwood & Ocean (North End of the Beach)
• Belmar – 
  • 3rd Avenue Beach (3rd Ave & Boardwalk) Sponsored by Jersey Central Power & Light
  • 16th Avenue Beach (Dunkin’ Donuts: 1601 Ocean Avenue, Belmar, New Jersey, 07719)
• Bradley Beach – Gazebo on Ocean Ave & 5th Ave
• Deal – Hathaway Avenue
• Highlands – Snug Harbor Ave beach
• Keansburg – Batting Cages (275 Beachway Avenue)
• Keyport – Cedar Street (Cedar St and Pine St., parking on Pine St)
• Loch Arbour & Allenhurst – Euclid Avenue (105 Euclid Avenue, Loch Arbour, NJ)
• Long Branch –  
  • Madison Ave Beach Sponsored by SERVPro of Eatontown and Long Branch
  • S. Bath Ave Boardwalk Sponsored by ComcastCares
• Manasquan – Main Street Beach (East Main Street and beachfront)
• Monmouth Beach – Monmouth Beach Cultural Center (128 Ocean Avenue, Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750) Sponsored by Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and ComcastCares
• Middletown Township
  • Bayshore Waterfront Park (719 Port Monmouth Rd, Port Monmouth NJ 07758)
  • Ideal Beach (4 Ocean Avenue, Middletown, NJ)
  • Leonardo Public Beach South (1 Concord Avenue & the beach. North side of Leonardo State Marina Launch ramp)
• Ocean Grove – Boardwalk Pavilion (One block to the north of Ocean Vista Hotel – 13 Ocean Avenue, Ocean Grove, New Jersey 07756)
• Red Bank – Maple Cove (end of Maple Avenue)
• Rumson – Municipal Boat Ramp (9 Ave of Two Rivers, Rumson, NJ 07760)
• Sandy Hook – meet at Lot D
• Sea Bright
  • Anchorage Public Beach (north of Sea Bright Bridge, 960 Ocean Ave, Sea Bright, NJ, 07760)
  • Sea Bright Beach Pavilion (1097 Ocean Ave, Sea Bright, NJ 07760)
  • Tradewinds Public Beach (9 1/2 Tradewinds Ln, Sea Bright, NJ 07760)
• Sea Girt – Boardwalk at Beacon Blvd
• Spring Lake – South End Pavilion (north of Spring Lake Beach department – 410 Ocean Avenue, Spring Lake, NJ 07762)
• Union Beach – Florence Ave & Front St.

OCEAN COUNTY

• Bay Head – Beach House Classic Boardshop (517 Main Ave/Rt 35, Bay Head NJ 08742) Sponsored by ComcastCares
• Brick –  Brick Beach 1 on Rt 35 N (300 Ocean Blvd. Mantoloking, NJ 08738)
• Island Beach State Park – Bathing Pavilion #1 (Central Ave, Seaside Park, NJ 08752)
• Long Beach Island – Wally’s Restaurant in Surf City (712 Long Beach Blvd, Surf City NJ 08008)
• Pt. Pleasant – End of Maxson Ave at River Rd (near Riverfront Park)
• Pt. Pleasant Beach –
  • Jenkinson’s Aquarium on the Boardwalk (300 Boardwalk, Pt Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742)  Sponsored by Jenkinson’s Boardwalk and Aquarium, Jersey Central Power & Light and NuStar
    
  • Maryland Avenue Sponsored by Baine Contracting
• Seaside Heights – Sunset Beach (1200 NJ-35, Seaside Heights, NJ 08751)
• Seaside Park – 
  • 24th Ave Bayside Beach (S Bayview Ave & 24th Ave, Seaside Park, NJ 08752)
  • 2nd Ave Beach (2nd Ave & Boardwalk, Seaside Park NJ 08752)
  • Midway Beach
  • Stockton Ave Beach (Stockton Ave & Boardwalk, Seaside Park NJ 08752)
• Toms River –
  • Brown’s Woods Preserve (meet at Save Barnegat Bay Office: 117 Haines Road Toms River, NJ 08753)
  • Normandy Beach at 6th Ave
  • Ortley Beach at 3rd Ave (St. Elisabeth’s Chapel – 5 3rd Ave, Seaside Heights, NJ 08751)
• West Creek – Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area (Forge Rd, West Creek, NJ 08092)

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The Results are in!

Clean Ocean Action’s spring beach clean up on April 30th showed 90+ volunteers came out and collected 87 bags of trash and recyclables! Comcast Cares brought snacks and raffled off prizes, as well as encouraged locals to participate in the clean up.

Top 5 items found:

Cigarette filters 690

Plastic pieces 565

Plastic caps and lids 303

Straws 224

Food and candy wrappers 207

The runners up were:

Paper pieces 180,Store/Shopping bags 172, Nails 143, Beverage bottles 116 and plastic cutlery 113.

The oddest things found were: A 10$ bill! (awesome!) computer monitor, Grill lid, Tire, and foam boomerang.

Thank you everyone for coming out! Pictures will be added HERE to this post ASAP 🙂

Thank you for volunteering your time and energy to make our beaches a cleaner place!

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Fall 2015 Clean Ocean Action Beach Clean up results!

Fall 2015 Clean Ocean Action Beach Clean up results!

Poplar Avenue in Wildwood had a great turnout, 81 volunteers collected 56 bags of trash and recyclables on the beautiful sunny day that Oct 24th turned out to be!
The top 5 categories found were:

Plastic Pieces 305

Plastic Caps and lids 249

Nails 167

Cigar tips 154

Plastic food and candy wrappers 153

With the 2 close runners up:
Cigarette filters 146

Cardboard 147

The oddest things found were part of a car bumper, a doll head and a sea horse pool toy.

Of 92 different categories of trash, 89 were found.

Big thanks to all of our volunteers and locals, including Wildwood High and Elementary School, ACCC clubs, Wildwood Catholic and Henderson High School groups.

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Clean Ocean Action Beach Clean up Fall 2015

Clean Ocean Action is doing their awesome thing again, cleaning up the coast from SJ to NY.

Wanna join in? Bring a pair of gloves and a friend, and come out to any location you like to help clean up the beaches and keep our marine life safe and happy!
Check out the poster here, and if you have a big group you can always register. Just in case you want to make sure we are making a difference, check out my past blog posts for what Poplar Ave has done, and the report to see what together we have all done together!

CAPE MAY COUNTY LOCATIONS  

• Avalon – 32nd St. South (Uncle Bill’s Cake & Steak House: 3189 Dune Drive, Avalon, NJ 08202 – meeting location will be south of this restaurant closer to the beach on the ocean side.
• Cape May – 
  • Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Avenue, Cape May, NJ 08204)
  • 2nd Avenue Beach (Jetty Motel: 2nd Beach Ave, Cape May, NJ 08204)
• Del Haven – Sunray Beach (meeting at Sunray Beach- at the end of N. Delaware Ave, and follow the path to the beach)
• North Wildwood – 15th Avenue at Beach Patrol Building (Lifeguard Building: 15th Avenue, North Wildwood, NJ 08260)
• Ocean City –
  • Music Pier – 825 Boardwalk, Ocean City, NJ 08226
• Sea Isle City – John F. Kennedy Boulevard Beach *Cancelled for Fall 2015*
• Stone Harbor – 96th Street Beach (Stone Harbor Womens Civic Club- 96th Street, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247)
• Wildwood – Poplar Avenue Beach (Groff’s Restaurant – 423 E. Magnolia Avenue, Wildwood, NJ 08260)
• Wildwood Crest – Centennial Park (E. Fern Avenue and Ocean Avenue) *this event will take place on September 19th from 9 -12 
• Villas – Village Rd. and Bay Drive (meet at the dead end by the beach access)

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Results of the Clean Ocean Action Fall Beach Clean up 2014

On Saturday October 25th, over 100 people came out to Poplar Avenue in Wildwood. Together they clean up 58 bags of trash and recyclables! View the slideshow of COA FALL 2014 photos here!

There were families and kids that came from Wildwood High and Middle Schools, Henderson High School from PA, Pack 65 Boyscouts, and lots of locals and visitors came out as well.

The data cards we record what we find on, have 99 categories of trash. Together, we found 90 different types of trash!

The top 10 found were:

Plastic caps and lids 431

Plastic pieces 376

Plastic food/candy wrappers 330

Cigarette filters 322

Straws 191

Plastic bottles 151

Uncategorized plastic like fireworks/pens etc 140

Foam pieces 118

Plastic cups 100

Glass pieces 98

The weird things found were: a skimboard, a swinging seat, and a bag full of arcade tickets.

If you notice, many of the things we found the most of were plastic. Check out this chart of how long trash takes to degrade in the ocean:

And just in case you need a reminder: This is why I clean up the beach! Why do you?

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Clean Ocean Action Fall Beach Clean Up

Clean Ocean Action is hosting it’s fall beach clean up soon- October 25th 9:00am to noon!

The list of Cape May County sites are :

CAPE MAY COUNTY LOCATIONS

• Avalon – 32nd St. South
• Cape May – 
  • Nature Center of Cape May (1600 Delaware Avenue)
  • 2nd Avenue Beach
• Del Haven – Sunray Beach
• North Wildwood – 15th Avenue at Beach Patrol Building
• Ocean City –
  • Music Pier – 9th & Boardwalk (Moorlyn Terrace, NJ 08226)
  • 58th Street Pavilion
• Sea Isle City – John F. Kennedy Boulevard Beach *Sweep will take place on September 27, 2014*
• Stone Harbor – 96th Street Beach
• Wildwood – Poplar Avenue Beach
• Wildwood Crest – Centennial Park (Atlantic and Fern) *cannot participate for Fall 2014, but will in Spring 2015*

You can pre-register for a whichever site you prefer, or just show up!

As usual, it is rain or shine (hopefully closer to shine) and it is best to bring gloves and some friends with you!

Show up when you can, leave when you have to, but enjoy a day outside doing something constructive, positive for the environment and neighborhood, and satisfying!
A lot of people need community service hours, for clubs, societies, schools,sports,church, or just for a sense of pride in the accomplishments of oneself 🙂 . A beach clean up is a great way to help the community, and make a positive impact on your environment!

When you arrive at your chosen beach site, see whoever is in charge for bags and data cards, that capture what kinds and how much trash is found.
The data from these cards are tallied with the data from all of the other beach clean ups going on up and down the NJ coast.

See a report from last year, to put concrete numbers to just how much trash is on our beaches! Trust me…it will help you feel good about carrying your trash home with you, or walking the extra distance to put your trash in a can.

Smoker? In 2013 there were 32,303 filters found.

Love snacks? There were 30,944 candy wrappers/snack bags found.

Buy water bottles or cases of soda? There were 32,642 plastic caps/lids found, and 39,484 pieces of plastic found.

WOW.

I don’t know about you, but those numbers make me happy to do something as easy as recycle, and make sure my trash from picnics and outings make it to a trash can instead of the ground!

So come on out, and help keep our beaches happy and healthy!

photo by J.West (jessica westerland mumford)

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Spring 2011 Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep

Hello! and Thank you, to all the volunteers that came out and made Wildwood’s Poplar Ave site for Clean Ocean Action’s Beach Sweep a success!

(and thank you to all the folks that went to other sites all over New Jersey as well!)

This year, Wildwood’s Poplar Ave had 117 volunteers, who collected 46 bags of trash, and a pile of bulk trash like buckets, wood, and plastic cartons.

The top 5 objects found were: Plastic Pieces- 684, Glass Pieces- 568, Caps and Lids- 430, Straws and Stirrers, 411 and Food/Candy wrappers/bags- 380.

We had volunteers from Comcast, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cape May County Technical School, Wildwood High School, Rowan University, and volunteers from the community, neighborhood, and even as far away as Pennsylvania.

Check it out:

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Clean Ocean Action Spring 2010

Hopefully everyone got a chance to celebrate Earth Day, if even in a small way. Immediately following it came the Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweeps!

The Poplar Ave site in Wildwood NJ went very well, with over 20 volunteers collecting almost 700 pieces of debris. The top 3 were glass pieces, plastic pieces, and straws. Believe it or not, the fourth most common object found was cigar tips! A few of the odd things found were a visor, a mouthguard, a surf wax comb, a patio chair, and a sieve. 

The weather was gorgeous, and there were many local volunteers, including Girl Scout troop 43006, and kids from Cape May Technical High School.

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And the results are….

The fall Clean Ocean Action beach sweep that took place on Poplar Ave in Wildwood Saturday, October 24 went wonderful! This fall’s turnout of local volunteers was even greater than in the spring. We had a large group of kids from a local high school, as well as kids from 2 other high schools.  There was a group of people from the Coast Guard base, and even families.

Together between 60 and 7o volunteers collected around 20 full bags of trash. This season the most frequent item found was again straws, with 326 collected total. Second on the list was 180 plastic bottles and 112 candy/food wrappers.

 There are 94 different items listed on the COA trash item score cards, and only 8 items weren’t found on the beach. That means 86 different types of trash were found, just in a 3 block stretch of beach in Wildwood.  If this information doesn’t help people realize just how dirty our beaches are, I don’t know what will!

Trash doesn’t just mar beautiful scenery,and endanger the feet of those walking around, it endangers the animals and the ecosystem. Cigarette butts and plastic peices can be consumed by turtles, birds, and other marine life and can kill them. Animals can be tangled in plastic ties and 6 pack holders. Everyone has their own motivation, and my motivation to clean the beach is to help the marine life that I share the island with.

Here is a slideshow of pictures, if you place your cursor over the picture it will bring up the caption. Enjoy!

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