The plastic litter that washes onto beaches in Atlantic and Cape May counties often doesn’t start there. A majority of it begins hundreds of miles upstream.
It’s the idea at the center of a multi-state initiative called the “Cleanup Crawl,” organized by CeCe Carter, Mid-Atlantic regional manager of the Surfrider Foundation.
Recent volunteer cleanups at three sites in the Delaware River Basin not only collected 900 pounds of trash, but also gathered detailed data to help better define what is polluting coasts and beaches, Carter said.
The Cleanup Crawl, held Oct. 25–26, focused on the Delaware River Basin – North America’s top source of plastic pollution, according to a 2021 study published in Science Advances. The study estimated the river sends about 141 tons of plastic into the Atlantic annually, channeling waste from the 7.7 million people living in the Delaware River Basin.
Globally, an estimated 11 million tons of plastic enter ocean waters annually – or about one truckload every minute, the foundation told the Delaware Currents. If trends continue, experts project that the total weight of plastic in the ocean will exceed the weight of all fish by 2050.
The Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting America’s oceans and beaches, coordinated three volunteer cleanups at Petty’s Island in Camden; Newark, Del. and Dewey Beach, Del.
Beach cleanups have consistently revealed that single-use plastics – plastic bags, straws, bottles, food packaging, disposable cutlery – are the most commonly littered items and pose a growing threat to marine ecosystems and human health. A 2021 study published in Nature Sustainability found that plastics account for roughly 80% of marine debris globally.
Carter said the Cleanup Crawl was born from growing concern over just how much of that pollution originates upstream.
Despite being organized late in the summer, the Crawl drew strong turnout. Petty’s Island produced the most trash, due to its position downstream of Philadelphia and Camden, Carter said.
“It was almost like a lasagna. There were layers of plastic bottles… a group of us picked up over 1,000 bottles in an hour. If we could have moved our arms faster, we would have done more,” she said. “That plastic bag that blows away in Trenton gets into a creek or down a storm drain, and it ends up in the Delaware River, and that ends up in the bay, and eventually ends up in the ocean.”
What consumers can do
While Carter said there needs to be policies put in place to reduce the production of single-use plastic altogether, here are two ways the average consumer can help reduce the amount of plastic in or near the ocean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Reduce plastic use — Understanding your plastic use is the first step toward cutting back. Start by reducing single-use items, reusing what you can and recycling whenever possible.
Participate in a cleanup — Volunteer in your community to remove plastic before it reaches the ocean. Cleanups also provide data that help drive policies to reduce plastic pollution at its source. Find a cleanup at www.surfrider.org or www.oceanconservancy.org.
