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12/18/2019 11:01 PMWhat began with two collaborative cleanups in August in New Haven became a record-breaking cleanup season coordinated by Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound.
Over the following two months, more than 2,500 volunteers attended 73 cleanup events across the Connecticut shoreline and along inland rivers and streams. The volunteers tracked the trash they collected, and CFE/Save the Sound sent the final Connecticut tally to the Ocean Conservancy, which collects data from International Coastal Cleanup efforts around the world and produces an annual report.
As in past years, volunteers found some highly unusual items as they combed the water’s edge; this year, a blow-up flamingo, squirrel-shaped lawn ornament, a set of dog bowls, an inhaler, and a bicycle were among the more remarkable finds. This year, however, there was something even more interesting—the trends beginning to emerge from cleanup data gathered since 2017.
Plastic grocery bags, which were targeted by legislation in both Connecticut and New York this year, dropped more than 35 percent from 2018 levels. Other categories of plastic trash continued steady decreases from 2017 levels, including plastic cups and plates (down 25 percent), take-out containers (down 39 percent), and beverage bottles (down 51 percent). There was also a continued decline in balloons (down 46 percent since 2017), just as several communities on Long Island passed or began considering bans on their intentional release. Adjusted for the number of cleanups, only 4 of the 42 categories recognized by the Ocean Conservancy reached their three-year peak in 2019: tires, appliances, fishing net and pieces, and tiny plastics.
Heartening Results
“These are heartening results,” says Annalisa Paltauf, a CFE/Save the Sound volunteer and cleanup coordinator. “The number of individuals who took it upon themselves to spend a day taking real action to keep harmful trash and pollutants out of Long Island Sound and Connecticut’s rivers is inspiring. It’s a testament to the growing awareness of the need to act, and the desire to do so. This year we broke some new ground, and I look forward to working with all of our amazing cleanup captains and our official 2019 cleanup sponsor, Subaru of New England, again in 2020 to build on this year’s effort.”
In total, more than three tons (6,000 pounds) of trash were collected in 2019. There was less plastic gathered per cleanup this year, but CFE/Save the Sound staff is mindful of other less favorable trends.
While tobacco wrapping and packaging has fallen dramatically (down 74 percent since 2017), cigarette butts continue to be the most common item found during cleanups—more than 30,000 this year alone. The second-highest category was pieces of plastic measuring less than 2.5cm in diameter, of which more than 15,000 were found (up 10 percent since 2017). Levels of abandoned fishing line, nets, and traps have all either risen or remained flat over the past three years.
Targeting Microplastics, Ghost Fishing
“We’re making some great strides by working with community members, activists, and legislators to stop some of the most significant kinds of trash from reaching the Sound,” says Soundkeeper Bill Lucey. “In the coming months and years, we will be bringing that same collaborative attention and action to bear on the danger of microplastics and cleaning up abandoned fishing gear. I’m seeing these show up more and more often as the cause of death for birds, fish, and other species in the Sound—microplastics are easily ingested, and fishing gear traps, chokes, or otherwise harms a wide array of life.”
To learn more about 2019 trends or plans to address ghost fishing—specifically abandoned lobster pots on the bottom of Long Island Sound that continue to trap and kill wildlife—contact Anthony Allen at aallen@savethesound.org.