Delaware Coastal Cleanup adds new sponsor,
recycling to annual trash pickup event

DOVER (Sept. 1, 2011) – For the last few years, ‘Can we recycle some of this?’ has been a commonly asked question about the annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup. This year, when volunteers gather for the event at more than 40 sites statewide from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 17, the answer will be ‘Yes, we can!’

The new recycling initiative will be supported by a new partnership between the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Waste Management, the largest residential recycler and leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Following the Cleanup, Waste Management will be picking up the bagged recyclables and trash from all of the sites.

“For more than 20 years, the Delaware Coastal Cleanup has combined environmental education with measurable action by dedicated volunteers to make our beautiful beaches and waterways cleaner,” said DNREC Secretary Collin O’Mara. “By adding recycling and with the support of Waste Management – a great example of how public-private partnerships can benefit our environment – we are bringing the Coastal Cleanup into the 21^st century and aligning it with Delaware’s commitment to universal recycling.”

“Waste Management is pleased to partner this year with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for the annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup,” said Tom Houska, Senior District Manager for Waste Management of Wilmington. “This important annual event aligns with Waste Management’s goal to be good neighbors with each other and the environment we share. We want to help ensure the beaches and waterways in Delaware are clean and beautiful for all of us to enjoy.”

“With single-stream recycling now established in Delaware and public consciousness of recycling at a new high with the recent advent of universal curbside pickup, the time is right to add recycling to the longtime tradition of the Coastal Cleanup,” said Delaware Coastal Cleanup Coordinator Jack Hoban, who was able to obtain 2,000 tan trash bags donated by the Delaware Solid Waste Authority to be used for recyclables. Part of the goal was to make the change to recycling easy for volunteers, he added, by providing two different colors of trash bags for easy separation and identification of trash and recyclables, and by focusing on the most common recyclable items – plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers.

“Last year, Coastal Cleanup volunteers collected nearly nine and a half tons of trash from Delaware’s beaches, waterways and estuaries up and down the state, including nearly 9,000 recyclable plastic, glass and aluminum beverage containers. This year, we’re very excited that we can add recycling to this event, and we hope to divert a substantial portion of these items from the waste stream to become recycled materials, adding an additional environmental benefit,” Hoban continued, noting that beverage containers placed in the tan bags for recycling need to be fairly clean, not full of sand or mud.

Volunteers will need to be aware of the change – but it doesn’t mean a big change in what they will be doing on Cleanup day, Hoban said. “Volunteers usually head out in groups of three or four – one to keep the data card and the rest with trash bags. At this year’s Cleanup, at least one of those pickup volunteers will carry a tan trash bag for recyclables while the others carry the usual black bags for trash. Then the volunteers will place the bags in separate piles at the designated trash pickup point,” he explained.

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to pre-register for the Delaware Coastal Cleanup on the DNREC website to ensure that enough T-shirts, trash bags, gloves and other supplies are provided for each site. To pre-register, go to www.dnrec.delaware.gov/CoastalCleanup . Pre-registration will close on Monday, Sept. 12. On the day of the event, T-shirts will be distributed to volunteers who have not pre-registered while supplies last.

Delaware’s Cleanup is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines and lakes by volunteers. The Ocean Conservancy supplies trash bags and data cards. Delaware’s event is co-sponsored by Delmarva Power, which provides t-shirts. Another key sponsor is the Dover-based Playtex Division of Energizer Personal Care, which provides gloves. DNREC is responsible for organizing the event, recruiting volunteers, distributing supplies, ensuring trash removal and tabulating data.

For more information about the Delaware Coastal Cleanup, please contact Jack Hoban, Delaware Coastal Cleanup coordinator, at 302-739-9278.

Vol. 41, No. 337