By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
With trash buckets in hand, brother and sister John and Connie Allen methodically searched through the vegetation covering the dunes at the ocean end of John F. Kennedy Boulevard for any litter or debris.
“Mainly, we’re finding plastic wrappers,” John Allen said while using a metal trash grabber to pick up litter.
The Allens, who live in Quinton Township, Salem County, have a vacation place in Clermont and spend their summers at the beach in Sea Isle City. They noted that they don’t want their vacations spoiled by trash on the beach.
“We just like having a clean environment,” Connie Allen said.
The Allens were among 150 environmentally conscious volunteers who fanned out on Sea Isle’s beaches, sand dunes, parks and other areas along the barrier island to clean up the shoreline Saturday.
The annual event, organized by Sea Isle’s Environmental Commission in partnership with the state group Clean Ocean Action, traditionally attracts families, community organizations, school groups and other volunteers who simply want to protect the environment.
This was the 35th year for Sea Isle’s beach sweep. The Allens, whose family has been vacationing in Sea Isle since the 1970s, have participated in the beach cleanup for five years.
“We come here every weekend in summer. Even when we’re on the beach, we’ll pick up trash,” John Allen explained of his family’s desire to help keep Sea Isle clean.
Sea Isle normally has a beach cleanup in the spring and fall each year, but the events were canceled last year due to the pandemic.
With the emergence of the COVID-19 vaccine and Gov. Phil Murphy now allowing up to 200 people to gather for outdoor events, Sea Isle was able to resume the spring cleanup on Saturday by following pandemic safety protocols.
“Quite honestly, they can clean anywhere. Our beaches haven’t been cleaned for a year,” said Abby Powell, a member of the Environmental Commission.
The Environmental Commission plans to compile a report later on that will analyze the types of litter that were picked up and the amount. The report is annually written by commission member Maria Andrews, the associate director of undergraduate programs in Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania.
Noting the strong turnout for Saturday’s beach cleanup, Andrews said Sea Isle’s visitors and residents recognize the importance of keeping the beaches, dunes and ocean as nice as possible.
“You come to the beach to relax and spend time with your family and you want to have a clean environment around you,” she said.
Andrews and Powell were among the Environmental Commission members who handed out rubber gloves and large black trash bags to the volunteers who showed up for the beach sweep. Volunteers were also given a data card to record the types of trash and debris they found.
Debbie Bock, a Cape May Court House resident who was part of a group of employees from 1st Bank of Sea Isle City participating in the cleanup, said she was pleasantly surprised at how clean the beaches appeared to be.
“I’m very happy with how little trash we’re finding,” she said.
In particular, Bock found it hard to believe that she wasn’t cleaning up the cigarette butts that are normally discarded on the beach.
“I haven’t found one cigarette butt,” she said.
Traditionally, cigarette butts and plastic bottles, cups and wrappers are among the biggest source of litter found during the beach sweeps. However, a statewide smoking ban took effect on New Jersey beaches and public parks in January 2019, raising speculation that may have been the reason why Bock wasn’t seeing any cigarette butts.
Some of Bock’s bank colleagues, though, made some interesting finds. Billie Whelan, of Upper Township, who was joined by her husband, Pat, said she found a balloon and a lot of burnt logs.
But there was another discarded item that was even more unusual than the burnt logs.
“I found a receipt for somebody’s prescription from Walgreens,” Billie Whelan said, shaking her head in disbelief.
