New Jersey Beach Sweeps Return This Saturday

Clean Action Ocean's annual fall New Jersey Beach Sweeps take place this Saturday, October 24th, from 9 am to 12:30 pm at 15 beaches in Atlantic, Cape May, and lower Ocean counties, and 80 total beaches along the New Jersey coast.

What started in 1985 with 75 volunteers at a single site has grown over the past four decades to over 176,000 volunteers removing 8.7 million pieces from New Jersey shores.

How to Volunteer

Clean Ocean Action could use your help this Saturday. Volunteers of all ages are welcome. Kids under age 12 must be supervised by an adult.

Volunteers must register, which can be done online.

Clean Ocean Action says to bring gloves and a trash bucket. The buckets have replaced the number of plastic bags used. Good idea!

You should wear sunglasses and hard-soled shoes.

The Trashy Details

You will be asked to help document the trash you collect. The information is compiled to give a better idea of what is being discarded on beaches and how we can prevent it from happening.

A couple of items that have recently increased the amount of trash on New Jersey beaches are reusable bags and dental floss picks.

Then there are the items that always seem to top the trash list.

Plastic bottles, cigarette butts, e-cigarette cartridges, plastic cutlery, styrofoam cups, cardboard, and assorted beachwear and gear.

And we can't forget those 'Oh wow, they actually found that on the beach?' items like dirty diapers, syringes, a Christmas wreath, and an inflatable hot tub — just some of the more than 276,899 items volunteers collected from New Jersey’s beaches during the last Beach Sweep.