Barbie, Ken & The Kitchen Sink: Beach Cleanups Net Tons Of Junk

A dead pregnant whale with 48 pounds of plastic in its stomach. An osprey tangled in a balloon string at Island Beach State Park. Photos of turtles that have been deformed because of six-pack rings.

The reports and photos always evoke horror, yet the trash on the beaches continues to pile up. It's this reason Clean Ocean Action continues to hold its annual Beach Sweeps; this spring's event is set for Saturday, April 13.

As they have for more than 30 years, the organization released its annual report on what volunteers collected from the beaches during the previous year's sweeps. Among the "Roster of the Ridiculous" items collected were a bottle of urine, two cases of beer, a counterfeit $100 bill and 565 condoms. (At least they were engaging in safe sex, even if it was a bit gritty.)

There's the Dirty Dozen most commonly collected items: plastic pieces remained No. 1, with plastic cups, food and candy wrappers, and straws rounding out the top 4, with numbers collected rising. A noteable decrease was cigarette filters, with 7,000 fewer collected in 2018.

Pieces of glass collected more than doubled, from 5,744 in 2017 to 14,078 in 2018 and balloons, both rubber and mylar, set a new record with 5,470 collected, exceeding the record set in 2011 by 31.52 percent, the group said.

In total, the 325,320 items collected among the Dirty Dozen accounted for about 72 percent of the items collected during the 2018 Beach Sweeps, according to the Clean Ocean Action report. Volunteers — 10,148 combined between spring and fall — collected 454,365 items of manmade debris, the organization reported.

The group, which fought for the law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2018 banning smoking on New Jersey's beaches, said its data on cigarette filters was something Murphy cited in signing the ban. They are among groups working to eliminate single-use plastics; straw counts are higher in the fall, even with fewer fall sweep volunteers, reflecting the increased use in the summer, Clean Ocean Action said.

The smoking ban hasn't stopped all smoking on the beaches, however: e-cigarettes continue to be found in increasing numbers. Other laws that exist — banning alcohol on the beach (Sandy Hook just enacted a ban at the park's beaches) and other "adult" activities — don't stop all of them.

Other oddities collected: The door from a Porta-Potty; a door from a safe, a religious statue, a Christmas tree, a shoe with a bottle of hot sauce in it, a dog chew toy, Barbie and Ken dolls and a My Little Pony toy; an air conditioning unit, a couch, car bumpers and a kitchen sink. There were 43 whole tires collected in 2018, down from 55 in 2017.

Since 1985, volunteers have collected 6.7 million pieces of trash.

Groups and individuals are welcomed to volunteer for the Beach Sweeps, which run from 9 a.m. to noon and there are more than 60 locations that are getting cleanups. Click here for information on how to sign up for one near you.

"The greatest success of the Beach Sweeps are the take-home lessons: citizens taking responsibility for the environment, making a difference, teamwork, and commitment," Clean Ocean Action said. "The Beach Sweeps are a day of service in the Spring and Fall that provide a lifetime of data to help make a difference for the ocean.

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