Help Keep Long Beach Island Clean With Annual Spring Beach Sweeps

LONG BEACH ISLAND, NJ — When you sit down on the sand on a beautiful summer day, you don't want to be surrounded by cigarette butts and bits of plastic. Join Clean Ocean Action on April 12 to help keep the Atlantic tidy with their Annual Spring Beach Sweeps.

New Jersey's largest grassroots environmental volunteer event and one of the longest-running beach cleanups in the world invites you to "spring into action" from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on April 12 at more than 80 beach and waterway locations across the state.

Registration is required for all participants and can be completed through Clean Ocean Action's website. Groups are welcome, but all individuals within a group must register separately.

“For 40 years, Beach Sweeps has been a testament to the power of people working together for a cleaner, healthier ocean. Every bucket filled with litter is a step toward lasting change,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action.

This year, in celebration of 40 years of Beach Sweeps, Clean Ocean Action is launching “BucketMan”—a new environmental superhero on a mission to fight marine debris and inspire volunteers to adopt sustainable habits. BucketMan champions the movement to reduce waste by encouraging participants to bring their own reusable buckets instead of using disposable plastic bags to rid beaches and the ocean of trash and debris.

Plastic pollution remains one of the most pressing threats to marine ecosystems. Each year, Beach Sweeps volunteers remove thousands of plastic items including bags, which break down into harmful microplastics, endangering marine life and contaminating our waters. By bringing a bucket, volunteers can significantly cut down on single-use plastic waste while making a positive impact.

These nearby sites will be participating:

• Long Beach Island - Wally's Restaurant in Surf City (712 Long Beach Blvd., Surf City) In partnership with Alliance for a Living Ocean *** PLEASE NOTE THE START TIME FOR THIS SITE IS 12:30 p.m.; CLEANUP ENDS AT 2:30 p.m.
• West Creek - Stafford Forge Watershed Management Area (Old Forge Road, 39.66717, -74.3193)