Shore - See

Cleaning crews hit Allen Road, Amherst Drive, and Butler Boulevard.

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marine life and more enjoyable for people. In addition, the event collects data so we can learn how to change wasteful habits, enforce litter laws, improve policies and spread awareness to the public. “It is a fantastic day for the ocean. The amazing turnout for the Fall Sweeps is testament to the love and commitment people have for a clean ocean! Many brought buckets and all removed thousands of items, mostly plastic from the beach. The data they collected will help us continue to make progress to reduce marine debris,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director, Clean Ocean Action. Over the years, data collected from these beach sweeps suggests trends. For nearly 40 years, single-use plastic items are consistently on the rise. It continues to be the number one item found at these collections. Although COA has not tallied this year’s exact data, they hope to see a decrease in the number of items now banned due to the law that went into effect on May 4. The law bans plastic bags, several types of foam food containers, as well as reducing access to plastic straws. “The data collected by the thousands

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─Photos courtesy Berkeley Shores