Trash on our local beaches and in our waterways isn’t just unsightly – it’s also potentially dangerous to marine life and in some cases harmful to water quality. You can help make a local difference and pay it forward in Delaware by joining volunteers of all ages at the 27th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Delaware Department of National Resources and Environmental Control(DNREC) is seeking volunteers for Delaware’s largest environmental cleanup initiative, the 27th Annual Coastal Cleanup. Join thousands of Delaware residents to lend a helping hand at nearly 50 sites along Delaware’s 97-mile eastern coastline, which also includes river and ocean shorelines as well as wetland and watershed areas.

Beautifying the Bayshore

This year, for the first time, the Delaware Coastal Cleanup will have a theme: “Beautifying the Bayshore … and Beyond.” Delaware’s Bayshore encompasses the central part of the state’s shoreline east of Route 1, from the Delaware City area in southern New Castle County to the Lewes/Cape Henlopen area of Sussex County. This unique region, with its quiet bay beaches, marshes, forests, wildlife areas and agricultural/residential lands, is the focus of the Delaware Bayshore Initiative, a landscape approach to conserving wildlife habitat, enhancing low-impact recreational opportunities and building strong communities through environmentally compatible economic development. More than 25 of this year’s Coastal Cleanup sites are part of the Delaware Bayshore.

2012 Coastal Cleanup

2012’s Coastal Cleanup included 1,400 dedicated volunteers from civic organizations, youth groups, businesses and families who collected 7.8 tons of trash from more than 40 sites along Delaware’s shorelines and tributaries. More than 4 tons of that trash – mostly aluminum cans and plastic bottles – was recycled. Some of the more unusual finds included a plaster cast of a foot, sofa pillow, hermit crab house, bucket of tar, a Hula Hoop, boogie board, toy cannon, birdfeeder, boat cover, door, radio-controlled model airplane, car headlight, perfume bottle, toilet, skateboard, patio chair, room key, tennis racket, and lottery tickets inside a bottle.  

PREREGISTER BY MONDAY, SEPT 9th:

Sign up for the 27^th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup before the preregistration deadline of Monday, Sept. 9. This year’s Cleanup will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 21, targeting nearly 50 sites in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties. Sponsored by the Delaware DNREC. Volunteers are strongly encouraged to pre-register on the DNREC website to ensure enough supplies are packed for each site, including the 2013 Coastal Cleanup t-shirt, given in appreciation of volunteers’ efforts. To pre-register, go to www.dnrec.delaware.gov/CoastalCleanup. Preregistration will close on Monday, Sept. 9 at close of business. In case of severe weather, rain date will be the following Saturday, Sept. 28.

Volunteers

For more information about your preferred site in the 2013 Coastal Cleanup, please contact the zone captain in your area:

• State Parks Statewide Zone Captain – Glen Stubbolo, 302-739-9181
• State Wildlife Areas Zone Captain – Lynne Staub, 302-735-3600
• Sussex Beach Sites Zone Captain – Jennifer Luoma, 302-739-9921
• Kent County Bay Beach Sites Zone Captain – Jennifer Holmes, 302-739-6377
• For general information about the 2013 Delaware Coastal Cleanup, please contact coordinator Joanna Wilson at 302-739-9902, or email [email protected].

About the Cleanup

Delaware’s Cleanup is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines and lakes by volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world help each year to rid the environment of marine debris and collect detailed information on the types and quantities of refuse they find. This information is recorded on data cards and forwarded to the Center for Marine Conservation, which compiles data for all of the cleanups held in the country and around the world. This information helps identify the source of the debris and focus efforts on eliminating or reducing it.   The Ocean Conservancy supplies trash bags, data cards and marine debris brochures.

About the Sponsors

Delaware’s cleanup is co-sponsored by Delmarva Power, which provides t-shirts for the participants. DNREC is responsible for organizing the event, recruiting volunteers, distributing supplies, ensuring trash removal and tabulating data. Playtex Division of Energizer Personal Care, which provides gloves, and trash and recyclables hauler Waste Management also return as sponsors. DuPont’s Clear into the Future program also joins the sponsor list for the 2013 cleanup.  

For more information about the Ocean Conservancy and the International Coastal Cleanup, visit www.oceanconservancy.org. For more information about the Delaware Coastal Cleanup, please call Joanna Wilson, Delaware Coastal Cleanup coordinator, at 302-739-9902.

Pay IT Forward

Help Clean Our Delaware Coastline & Waterways!