When you go to the beach here in New Jersey, do you take an extraordinary amount of stuff with you?

Did you leave it there?

Well, somebody did.

Photo by OCG Saving The Ocean on Unsplash
Photo by OCG Saving The Ocean on Unsplash
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Cleaning up the mess on Jersey beaches

This Saturday (April 13, 2024), Clean Ocean Action is holding its statewide beach sweeps in New Jersey.

All over the state volunteers will fan out all over the state, hitting beaches and waterways, looking to clean up all the things that other folks left behind.

And, there's a lot that's been left behind!

(You can find out how you can volunteer by going here.)

Last year, volunteers collected 91,949 items during their spring sweep, and 84,257 items in the fall sweep.

Just over 79% of the items picked up were plastic. Plastic bottle caps and lids were the #1 most common plastic item.

Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash
Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash
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Weird stuff left on Jersey Shore beaches

While cleaning up the plastic and such is great, it's the other stuff that's always interesting.

For instance, did you take your computer router to the beach and just leave it there?

Somebody did!

Others have left behind credit cards, lottery tickets, a 50-pound bag of rice, and the gas tank from a car.

(So, if you're wondering, "What happened to that 50-pound bag of rice?", we have the answer!)

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Among the other oddities found on our beaches were a kids' slide, a bicycle, an electric razor, and some insulation from a house!

"Hey, what do you say that before we put this insulation in your attic, we let it visit the beach first!"

Lost your whoopie cushion? It was found on the beach. Your two crockpots with lids? Ditto.

Even more stuff left behind on the beach: a full length mirror, a windshield wiper repair kit, a "Danger High Voltage" sign, and a tongue depressor. "Say ah!"

A big shout-out and "Thank you" to the volunteers! It's because of them that we can have something nice!

SOURCE: Clean Action Ocean

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