Shoes, a bed frame, a television, a backpack, fake nails, boxer shorts, a bed frame, a box of Special K and a bike seat… all of these items were found along local waterways during the New Hampshire Coastal Cleanup this fall.
During the cleanup, which is held annually in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy‘s International Coastal Cleanup, nearly 1,000 volunteers descended on local beaches and along Great Bay to remove litter and record their findings. Removing litter helps make our beaches and waterways safer for wildlife and people, and recording data can help us learn about trends in marine debris and develop effective solutions.
The volunteers recorded 47,231 litter items and removed over 4,948 pounds of debris from 11 miles of coastline. This is an average of 450 pounds of litter per mile!
Below are the top ten items found during this year’s cleanup:
| Item | Total | |
| 1 | Cigarette Butts | 25,706 |
| 2 | Plastic Pieces | 4,692 |
| 3 | Foam Pieces | 2,516 |
| 4 | Food Wrappers (candy, chips, etc.) | 1,717 |
| 5 | Glass Pieces | 1,700 |
| 6 | Bottle Caps (Plastic) | 1,219 |
| 7 | Rope (1 yard/meter = 1 piece) | 1,099 |
| 8 | Other Plastic/Foam Packaging | 955 |
| 9 | Beverage Cans | 801 |
| 10 | Beverage Bottles (Plastic) | 660 |
Thanks to all the volunteers, schools and businesses that participated! Special thanks to:
| Andy Schulte |
| Children’s House School |
| Dondero School |
| Dover Interact Club |
| Enel Green Power |
| Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains |
| Graet Bay National Wildlife Refuge / Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership |
| Great Bay Gunners |
| Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve |
| Greenlands Association |
| Holy Trinity Church |
| Little Harbour School |
| Michael Toepfer |
| Newington Elementary School |
| Newington Elementary School |
| Nottingham Elementary |
| Oyster River Watershed Association |
| Pfizer |
| Pinkerton Academy |
| Sant Bani School |
| Souhegan School |
| St. Thomas Aquinas High School |
| Winnacunnet High School |
Take Action:
If you’d like to sign up for next year’s New Hampshire Coastal Cleanup, e-mail us. Throughout the year, we have monthly cleanups open to the public. Click here for our calendar.
