Kickoff event issues call for volunteers to join 2013 Delaware Coastal Cleanup

FENWICK ISLAND (Sept. 4, 2013) – Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Deputy Secretary David Small joined t-shirt sponsor Delmarva Power this morning on the beach at the Delaware-Maryland line to make the kickoff call for volunteers to sign up for the annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup, which will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Sponsored by DNREC, the cleanup spans the First State’s 97-mile eastern coastline and includes river and ocean shorelines as well as wetland and watershed areas. This year, nearly 50 sites in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties are targeted.

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to pre-register on the DNREC website to ensure enough supplies are provided for each site. Pre-registration will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 9. On the day of the event, custom-designed 2013 Coastal Cleanup t-shirts will be distributed to volunteers while supplies last on a first-come, first-served basis. To pre-register, go www.dnrec.delaware.gov/CoastalCleanup.

At last year’s Coastal Cleanup, 1,400 dedicated volunteers from civic organizations, youth groups, businesses and families collected nearly 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.

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. The types and quantities of trash collected are recorded on data cards and forwarded to the Center for Marine Conservation, which compiles the information 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. 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.

For more information about the Ocean Conservancy and the International Coastal Cleanup, visit www.oceanconservancy.org.