October 21, 2004

SANDY HOOK , NJ — Hundreds of volunteers are expected to participate in Clean Ocean Action’s 19th Annual Fall Beach Sweeps on "Make a Difference Day," Saturday, October 23, from 9am-12:30pm. The statewide cleanups will take place at nearly 50 sites in Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. Sponsored this fall by Party With Purpose, Panasonic, and The J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, the Sweeps educate citizens about nonpoint source pollution, the leading cause of poor water quality in New Jersey.

The Beach Sweeps are unique in that Clean Ocean Action (COA) tracks information about marine debris off the Jersey Shore by collecting data at the cleanups and forwarding the results to The Ocean Conservancy for its international database on marine debris."The Beach Sweeps are an excellent opportunity for people to take responsibility for keeping their communities clean, help the environment, and enjoy a day at the beach with hundreds of fellow ocean enthusiasts," said Kari Jermansen, COA’s Outreach Director. "With every Sweep, citizens become aware of their role in creating nonpoint source pollution and learn how to become the solution to this pollution," said Julie Hajdusek, Education Coordinator for COA.COA invites people of all ages to engage in the fight against ocean pollution by participating in the next cleanup at ocean, lake, river, and bay locations from Keyport to Cape May. The event is especially popular with and rewarding for students and scouts who also benefit from the event by fulfilling service hours and school projects and making a difference in their communities. "The thousands of people that volunteer at the Sweeps help focus attention on the need for enforcement of laws and education of citizens about this pollution problem," said Cindy Zipf, COA’s Executive Director. "The data from 19 years of Beach Sweeps shows that beach litter remains a problem. It is not only unsightly but also deadly to marine life. One of COA’s goals is to reduce sources of litter to ultimately bring an end to the need for Beach Sweeps."

Volunteers interested in participating in the Fall Beach Sweeps are instructed to bring gloves, dress for the weather (event is rain or shine), and wear sunscreen and hard-soled shoes. Only groups of 15 or more must pre-register by contacting Clean Ocean Action one week in advance. For a list of sites, visit COA’s website at www.cleanoceanaction.org (follow links for "Beach Sweeps"). Or, for information about sites in Middlesex, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties, call 732-872-0111; for sites in South Jersey, call 609-729-9262.