Beach cleanups planned after July Fourth festivities

Big beach crowds on July Fourth can lead to big mounds of trash on July Fifth.

Environmentalists on Long Island and around the United States are mobilizing beach cleanups for Wednesday which the Surfrider Foundation is calling “the dirtiest beach day of the year.”

“There are a lot of parties and celebrations, fireworks and barbecues,” said Jenna Schwerzmann, Surfrider’s eastern Long Island chapter coordinator. “People are getting together and that often involves extra waste. It doesn’t have to be that way.”

The nonprofit focuses on several environmental issues including water quality and clean beaches. The eastern Long Island chapter is hosting a sunset cleanup at Cooper’s Beach in Southampton from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

“It’s really eye-opening to see what kinds of litter is found all over our beaches,” Schwerzmann said. “Often, it’s very recognizable plastics we use in our day-to-day lives.”

National data from Surfrider shows that in 2023 so far, volunteers have helped remove over 54,200 cigarette butts, 25,800 plastic fragments smaller than a dime and 15,800 plastic food wrappers and chip bags.

Trash found on beaches is sometimes left behind by visitors but it can also be blown out of trash cans or dropped from bags ripped by seagulls and other wildlife.

That is why Robert DiGiovanni, executive director and chief scientist at the Long Island-based Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, thinks it’s best to take all your trash after visiting beaches and dispose of it at home.

“Marine debris is not something that any of us want to ingest and I’m sure wildlife doesn’t want to either,” said DiGiovanni. “The sooner we can remove it from the environment the less likely we have of it being ingested accidentally by any of the animals that encounter it.”

The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society also hosts cleanups around Long Island as well as in New York City and elsewhere in the region.

“It may seem like an uphill battle,” DiGiovanni said of beach cleanups. “But doing nothing is the worst thing we can do.”

He said when people ask him what is the worst marine mammal stranding he has seen, he replies one that could have been prevented by keeping plastic out of the environment.

Beach cleanups also help raise awareness among volunteers and the public, environmentalists said.

“When I first became a volunteer, it really inspired me to reduce my plastic usage,” Schwerzmann said. “Plastic doesn’t break down and go away. It just breaks up into smaller and smaller pieces.”

Surfrider CEO Chad Nelsen said there are simple steps people can take that will not take the fun out of their July Fourth activities.

“Try to use reusable foodware instead of single-use plastic,” he said. “Bring your own reusable cups, plates and cutlery and enjoy your day without worrying about adding to the plastic pollution on the beach. If you aren’t able to use only reusables, opt for recyclable or natural materials, such as aluminum or bamboo. … Everything you bring to the beach with you, remember to take it back home.”

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.