Jun 13, 2016
By Sara Verrillo, Digital Media Specialist
It's hard to deny the best part of summer in Jersey is being outside. Long days at the beach, hikes through state parks, and hundreds of outdoor festivals make us feel closer to nature, but they also leave nature more vulnerable to our messes. Here are a few tips that will keep your favorite places litter-free this summer.
1. Keep a plastic shopping bag handy to collect waste on the go. Parking lots don't always provide receptacles for tailgaters, and bins can be hard to come by at festivals. Stash a plastic bag or two in your bag to collect trash and recyclables. If you're the one planning an outdoor event, make sure to provide enough trash cans, and don't forget to reserve our event recycling bins.
Forget your worries, not your waste, at outdoor festivals this summer.
2. Become friends with your neighbors. Organize a block party cleanup of your street, and take ownership of litter prevention in your neighborhood.
3. Share articles about the importance of litter prevention on social media. Here are two examples:
4. Report litter and illegal dumping right from your phone. Download the app SeeClickFix to report litter and help us crowdsource cleanups. Here's how.
Help us obLITTERate litter across the county.
5. Need a trash can but don't see one? Talk to your town about adding recycling and trash cans to frequently visited spots.
6. Adopt a road! And if you already have, encourage others to adopt open roads in your town. See available roads here.
Adopt a road: another excuse to hang out with friends.
7. Don't buy products with microbeads. Although we can hardly see them, microplastics, like the microbeads often found in face wash and toothpaste, are a growing source of pollution that harm marine life. You can help by avoiding products with microbeads (learn more about the issue here) and opting for natural exfoliants instead. Check out these recipes for body scrubs made with salt and sugar.
A magnified look at a microbead. Small to us, but food to fish.
8. Hold a movie night. Watch the documentary Bag It with friends to learn how you can help reduce plastic pollution.
9. Clean up your beach spot. The beach can be a breeding ground for pollution. Make sure to always check your area before leaving, and look out for litter left behind by others.
Soak in the sun, but don't let the ocean soak in your trash.
10. If you see litter on the ground, please pick it up!
Share your ideas for keeping Atlantic County Clean with us! Use the hashtag #CleanAtlCo on social media or send us an email.