TFA Post July 4th Sweep in Ocean City
#TrashFreeAssateague
ACT recently hosted another successful sweep on Assateague Island's National Park. On June 2nd, TFA's Post Memorial Day Sweep removed just under 40 pounds of trash from the heavier traffic areas of the Island. A dozen TFA Team volunteers, including members of the Student Conservation Association, came out to help us sweep the North Beach campgrounds, the South Beach shell lot, and the Bayside Drive picnic area on the west side of the Island. View photos of this sweep and other past sweeps here.
We are currently working to schedule a Post 4th of July Cleanup in Ocean City. ACT recently adopted 6 streets in Ocean City as part of the Adopt Your Block program, and as an extension of the Trash Free Assateague project. Join ACT and the TFA Team at 9 am on Monday, July 9th for a sweep of 19th-20th streets, and 94th-97th streets. We are looking for a couple of volunteers to help us out with this next TFA event. If you or someone you know are interested, please contact Billy Weiland at billy@actforbays.org.
What: Post July 4th Cleanup
Where: Ocean City, Streets:19-20, 94-97
When: Monday, July 9th
Time: 9 am -
Where: Ocean City, Streets:19-20, 94-97
When: Monday, July 9th
Time: 9 am -
TFA Post Memorial Day Sweep #TrashFreeAssateague
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Local photographer and owner of
Assateague Farm and Nursery, Lindsey Buckman, documents ACT's first sweep of the TFA project. See video above |
When: Saturday, June 2nd
9 am - 1 pm Where: Assateague Island National Seashore North Beach Parking Lot Pavilion Contact: Billy Weiland at billy@actforbays.org What To Bring
Gloves (We will have some gloves available) Bug Repellent Water (reusable water bottle if possible |
We are calling on volunteers to join our growing TFA team. Our next sweep is scheduled for Saturday, June 2nd from 9 am – 1 pm. TFA team members and volunteers will meet in front of the pavilion in the North Beach Parking lot (second left just past the NPS toll station). Look for the ACT logo and TFA beach sweep sign! We will be sweeping 4 high traffic areas of Assateague Island (See Cleanup Staging Areas Below). Those interested in helping ACT with this next TFA sweep should contact Billy Weiland at billy@actforbays.org.
Cleanup Staging Areas
North Beach Lot and Adjacent Campground/Beach
Nature Shack Parking lot (Old Ferry Landing)
Bayside Campgrounds (Bayside Drive)
South Ocean Beach (Shell lot area)
North Beach Lot and Adjacent Campground/Beach
Nature Shack Parking lot (Old Ferry Landing)
Bayside Campgrounds (Bayside Drive)
South Ocean Beach (Shell lot area)
This post Memorial Day sweep will incorporate a new element into trash sweeps. At the end of the sweep, the TFA Team will reconvene at the North Beach Lot to sort through the debris collected and recycle the appropriate items on site. During this time, ACT will discuss the overall issues with plastics and encourage those in attendance to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and work toward removing one-time use plastics form our everyday lives. TFA founder, Billy Weiland, will lead this sweep as he discuss the project in more detail, educates those in attendance, and motivates folks to get back and give back to our Land and Oceans.
Trash Free Assateague (TFA) is gaining ground and we have seen an amazing amount of support for the project and its goals. With TFA, we are raising awareness to the waste problem that our Planet is facing. ACT is utilizing this TFA project as a way to educate society about the unsustainable use of resources and a dependence on one-time use plastics, and the ill effects this behavior is having on our Land, in our Oceans, and among the human population. We are here to advocate for sustainable living practices, and we encourage all to lessen their dependence on one-time use plastics. So, how to ween a consumer society off unsustainable resources and practices? From something as simple as addressing litter problems, to motivating a larger audience to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, TFA has the ability to become a major platform that, we believe, will rekindle the environmental ethic of the past.
ACT has been working closely with the NPS at Assateague Island National Seashore as we build TFA, and we foresee a working partnership that will benefit our local Coastal ecosystem through education, trash sweeps, outreach, and eco tours.
ACT has been working closely with the NPS at Assateague Island National Seashore as we build TFA, and we foresee a working partnership that will benefit our local Coastal ecosystem through education, trash sweeps, outreach, and eco tours.
Trash Free Assateague Kicks Off With First Sweep For Earth Day Weekend, Removing 200 Pounds Of Litter From the North Point Of Assateague
Trash Free Assateague, a project developed by Assateague Coastal Trust’s Communications Director, Billy Weiland, is gradually growing a support group throughout Delmarva, and it’s putting words into action. Assateague Coast Trust held their first beach sweep of the Trash Free Assateague project on April 21st.
With a crew of seven volunteers aboard the Trust’s COASTKEEPER vessel, the Trash Free Assateague Team made their way across Sinepuxent Bay to the North Point of Assateague Island. Referred to as the Wedge, this area of Assateague Island is located on the south side of the Ocean City inlet and has seen an increase in trash that has washed ashore and litter that has accumulated in the dune system.
This particular section of Assateague has seen an influx of beach visitors over the years. Because it is a more isolated part of the Island, it’s much more difficult for the National Park Service to constantly patrol the area, and, unfortunately we have a small percentage of individuals that are camping out on the beach for the day and dumping all of their trash in the back dunes.
To address the amount of trash that has accumulated at the Wedge, we created the Trash Free Assateague project in February. Trash Free Assateague was developed to not only clean up the Wedge, but to draw attention to the root of the problem. We’re not solely focusing on cleaning up this small part of the Island, but anticipate growing this project and utilizing it to bring awareness to the littering problem and trash issues that not just this area faces, but the entire planet. Our society’s lifestyle practices today are not sustainable. We need to encourage every single individual to work toward more sustainable lifestyle practices. Population has and is likely going to continue to increase, and as it does our resources will continue to dwindle, and the amount of waste generated will follow suit. It can be scary, it can be overwhelming, but we should see this as motivation to reduce our ecological footprint and get back and give back to Nature.
Plastics and their reputation for polluting the environment and threat to marine life isn’t new. Over half of all plastic used are discarded after a one time use. Because plastics take so long to break down, upwards of 1,000 years, once they end up in the environment, that’s where they will stay for lifetimes. These are the kinds of plastics we’re finding on our beaches.
Assateague Coastal Trust worked with their Trash Free Assateague Team alongside Assateague Island’s National Park Service to remove nearly 200 pounds of litter from the North Point of Assateauge over the weekend. Even more telling is that that number accounts primarily for small, light plastics. This is a start, and we are going to continue this project, the Trash Free Assateague Team is going to grow, and we are going to see changes in the future!
With a crew of seven volunteers aboard the Trust’s COASTKEEPER vessel, the Trash Free Assateague Team made their way across Sinepuxent Bay to the North Point of Assateague Island. Referred to as the Wedge, this area of Assateague Island is located on the south side of the Ocean City inlet and has seen an increase in trash that has washed ashore and litter that has accumulated in the dune system.
This particular section of Assateague has seen an influx of beach visitors over the years. Because it is a more isolated part of the Island, it’s much more difficult for the National Park Service to constantly patrol the area, and, unfortunately we have a small percentage of individuals that are camping out on the beach for the day and dumping all of their trash in the back dunes.
To address the amount of trash that has accumulated at the Wedge, we created the Trash Free Assateague project in February. Trash Free Assateague was developed to not only clean up the Wedge, but to draw attention to the root of the problem. We’re not solely focusing on cleaning up this small part of the Island, but anticipate growing this project and utilizing it to bring awareness to the littering problem and trash issues that not just this area faces, but the entire planet. Our society’s lifestyle practices today are not sustainable. We need to encourage every single individual to work toward more sustainable lifestyle practices. Population has and is likely going to continue to increase, and as it does our resources will continue to dwindle, and the amount of waste generated will follow suit. It can be scary, it can be overwhelming, but we should see this as motivation to reduce our ecological footprint and get back and give back to Nature.
Plastics and their reputation for polluting the environment and threat to marine life isn’t new. Over half of all plastic used are discarded after a one time use. Because plastics take so long to break down, upwards of 1,000 years, once they end up in the environment, that’s where they will stay for lifetimes. These are the kinds of plastics we’re finding on our beaches.
Assateague Coastal Trust worked with their Trash Free Assateague Team alongside Assateague Island’s National Park Service to remove nearly 200 pounds of litter from the North Point of Assateauge over the weekend. Even more telling is that that number accounts primarily for small, light plastics. This is a start, and we are going to continue this project, the Trash Free Assateague Team is going to grow, and we are going to see changes in the future!
Media coverage of the TFA project is available in our ACT In The News page.
Please stay tuned as we are working on a schedule of cleanups through the Summer season. Tentatively, we are planning the next TFA beach sweep on the Tuesday after Memorial Day Weekend. A calendar of sweeps and projected TFA events will be made available soon. Thanks!!
Please see the Trash Free Assateague itinerary and logistics document below...
| trash_free_assateague_itenerary.docx |
Below is the National Park Service's logistics document for this sweep. Please review if you are volunteering.
| act_description_of_work_4-4-18.docx |
ACT's Billy Weiland recently posted a story to the The Marsh, documenting the trash and litter problem that has overwhelmed the Eastern Shore. There is no denying it, the trash that has found its way into our environment is a visible problem, and it needs to be addressed. The amount of loose debris collecting along some of the roadways in the region is absolutely unacceptable. Our waterways and beaches have also succumb to loose trash and the littering habits of some individuals.
We are initiating a campaign to address the loose trash in this area, and we aim to see that there is a stronger littering enforcement.
The North Point of Assateague Island National Seashore (referred to as The Wedge) will reside as a focal point for ACT as we start this campaign. This part of the Island has seen an increase in the number of beach visitors over the years, and subsequently it has fallen victim to littering and illegal dumping. Further, loose debris has found its way onto Assateague as wind, tides, and wave action push trash from Ocean City and West Ocean City on to the beach.
Due to the remote nature of this part of the Island, access to the beach for cleanup days will be by kayak or boat. This is a relatively small portion of the Island, but the amount of work to clean up the excess trash here will require several volunteers per sweep.
Since introducing this campaign, many have stepped up and asked to volunteer. Due to the more remote nature of the North Point and the relatively smaller area of beach we will be focusing on, we are looking for 4 volunteers per sweep. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Billy Weiland via email.
As part of this campaign we foresee establishing signs on this part of the island that deter visitors from littering and dumping trash. Currently there are "No Pets" signs, but littering signs are absent. Given the NPS approves the establishment of signs for the Trash Free Assateague campaign, our Coast Kids director Verena Chase, plans to incorporate an anti littering class for children. This will give our Coast Kids program the opportunity to be part of this anti littering movement as they create signs to be placed on the North Point of Assateague persuading visitors to pack it in and pack it out.
This is a campaign which everyone in the community can support. It is simple, yet effective. It is small, yet has a powerful message. Not littering is one of the first environmental responsibilities we should be taught as children, and ACT is here to advocate. Nobody likes a litter bug.
We appreciate all those that have supported our efforts over the years, and we look forward to focusing our attention back on the Island that has given so much.
