SANDY HOOK, N.J. — More than 4,500 volunteers picked up trash and recorded marine debris at more than 80 sites across New Jersey on Saturday, Oct. 24, during Clean Ocean Action’s annual Fall Beach Sweeps, the environmental group said.
The cleanup ran from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at most locations, with different times at Delaware River sites, according to the nonprofit. Clean Ocean Action described the event as the largest volunteer-powered coastal cleanup and community science effort in the state.
Participants included school groups, students, businesses, community leaders, families and environmental advocates, along with the organization’s staff and program sponsors. Volunteers of all ages may still sign up online, the group said.
The largest turnouts by pre-registration are expected at Raritan Bay Waterfront Park in South Amboy, with 309 volunteers; Lot D at Sandy Hook, with 306; Jenkinson’s Aquarium in Point Pleasant Beach, with 198; Fifth Avenue and Ocean in Bradley Beach, with 195; and Convention Hall in Asbury Park, with 186.
A rally featuring speakers from Clean Ocean Action and program sponsors is scheduled from 9:15 to 9:30 a.m. at the Sandy Hook site.
The sweeps, held twice a year since 1985, ask volunteers to log every item they remove. The organization said that data is used to shape environmental policy and long-term protections for the coast and ocean.
Over more than 40 years, the program has drawn more than 180,000 volunteers who have logged over 1 million hours and removed more than 8.9 million pieces of debris from New Jersey beaches, according to Clean Ocean Action.
The group said Beach Sweeps data contributed to the state’s 2022 “Get Past Plastic” law and the 2026 “Skip the Stuff” law, both aimed at reducing single-use plastics and plastic pollution. It cited continuing threats from plastic litter and microplastic contamination to ocean ecosystems, marine life, and human health.
Clean Ocean Action is a nonprofit that works to improve water quality in the marine waters off the New Jersey and New York coasts.
A full list of cleanup sites is posted on the organization’s website.
This report is based on a press release from Clean Ocean Action.
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