THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406090460
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940609 LENGTH: Long
``We knew we were in trouble when it started taking on water,'' said Mike Kelly, president of the Tidewater Personal Watercraft Club. ``Then it went down. We had to pick the trash out of the water and walk the boat to shore.''
{REST} When Kelly and his crew hit the Virginia Beach waterway again Saturday for the sixth annual Clean the Bay Day, they're hoping the anti-litter message will have resulted in cleaner shorelines. If not, at least they're the wiser. They won't be filling the boat as high this year.
They will join thousands of others from Virginia Beach to Annapolis, Md., to wipe the shores clean on foot, clear debris from the water by boats and scour riverbeds in scuba gear. About 250 miles of shoreline will be covered.
Last year, 4,330 men, women and children picked up 121 tons of trash from 212 miles of shoreline, said Robert K. Dean, founder and chairman of Clean the Bay Day.
While the numbers of volunteers have fluctuated each year, the volume of trash collected has steadily climbed.
``It will probably be our biggest year ever, especially in the amount that's picked up,'' Dean said. ``We've gotten so scientific in our methodology in finding out where the trash is and getting out there to pick it up.''
For example, 1,000 people typically combed the Virginia Beach oceanfront for garbage. But because Virginia Beach runs beach sweepers nightly, there was little left to clean up other than cigarette butts. This year, those volunteers will be redirected to dirtier areas, such as the Elizabeth River.
``We're finding the Elizabeth River is in really bad shape,'' Dean said. ``It's beyond comprehension.''
Trash weighing more than 21 tons was collected last year from around the Campostella Bridge along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk where heavy industrial waste is dumped. Much more was left on shore for lack of time, manpower and equipment.
Each year, the Center for Marine Conservation in Hampton tallies the numbers and weighs the garbage collected during Clean the Bay Day.
The center reports that cigarette butts represented almost 32 percent of the total debris and lead the ``Dirty Dozen'' list of the most commonly found trash on our shorelines.
Not only is this pollution aesthetically revolting, but it also poses health dangers to people as well as to animal and plant life, organizers point out.
Six-pack rings ensnare birds, fish and seals, often strangling them.
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and eat them. The turtles die because they cannot digest the plastic.
Large appliances dumped in marshlands rust, killing plants and damaging habitats for wildlife.
And syringes, tampon applicators and condoms can carry body fluids and are a health risk to humans and animals.
Clean the Bay Day volunteers piled so many tires, lumber, beer cans and food wrappers into a johnboat in Broad Bay last year that the weight of the rubbish sank the skiff in only 4 feet of water.
``We knew we were in trouble when it started taking on water,'' said Mike Kelly, president of the Tidewater Personal Watercraft Club. ``Then it went down. We had to pick the trash out of the water and walk the boat to shore.''
When Kelly and his crew hit the Virginia Beach waterway again Saturday for the sixth annual Clean the Bay Day, they're hoping the anti-litter message will have resulted in cleaner shorelines. If not, at least they're the wiser. They won't be filling the boat as high this year.
They will join thousands of others from Virginia Beach to Annapolis, Md., to wipe the shores clean on foot, clear debris from the water by boats and scour riverbeds in scuba gear. About 250 miles of shoreline will be covered.
Last year, 4,330 men, women and children picked up 121 tons of trash from 212 miles of shoreline, said Robert K. Dean, founder and chairman of Clean the Bay Day.
While the numbers of volunteers have fluctuated each year, the volume of trash collected has steadily climbed.
``It will probably be our biggest year ever, especially in the amount that's picked up,'' Dean said. ``We've gotten so scientific in our methodology in finding out where the trash is and getting out there to pick it up.''
For example, 1,000 people typi- cally combed the Virginia Beach oceanfront for garbage. But because Virginia Beach runs beach sweepers nightly, there was little left to clean up other than cigarette butts. This year, those volunteers will be redirected to dirtier areas, such as the Elizabeth River.
``We're finding the Elizabeth River is in really bad shape,'' Dean said. ``It's beyond comprehension.''
Trash weighing more than 21 tons was collected last year from around the Campostella Bridge along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk where heavy industrial waste is dumped. Much more was left on shore for lack of time, manpower and equipment.
Each year, the Center for Marine Conservation in Hampton tallies the numbers and weighs the garbage collected during Clean the Bay Day.
The center reports that cigarette butts represented almost 32 percent of the total debris and lead the ``Dirty Dozen'' list of the most commonly found trash on our shorelines.
Not only is this pollution aesthetically revolting, but it also poses health dangers to people as well as to animal and plant life, organizers point out.
Six-pack rings ensnare birds, fish and seals, often strangling them.
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and eat them. The turtles die because they cannot digest the plastic.
Large appliances dumped in marshlands rust, killing plants and damaging habitats for wildlife.
And syringes, tampon applicators and condoms can carry body fluids and are a health risk to humans and animals.
The sixth annual Clean the Bay Day will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. The headquarters will be the Duck-In gazebo off Shore Drive at the Lesner Bridge. To volunteer, call Infoline at 640-5555, Ext. 4444, on the Southside and 245-5555, Ext. 4444, on the Peninsula. For outside Hampton Roads, call 1-800-SAVE-BAY.
Clean the Bay Day volunteers piled so many tires, lumber, beer cans and food wrappers into a johnboat in Broad Bay last year that the weight of the rubbish sank the skiff in only 4 feet of water.
``We knew we were in trouble when it started taking on water,'' said Mike Kelly, president of the Tidewater Personal Watercraft Club. ``Then it went down. We had to pick the trash out of the water and walk the boat to shore.''
When Kelly and his crew hit the Virginia Beach waterway again Saturday for the sixth annual Clean the Bay Day, they're hoping the anti-litter message will have resulted in cleaner shorelines. If not, at least they're the wiser. They won't be filling the boat as high this year.
They will join thousands of others from Virginia Beach to Annapolis, Md., to wipe the shores clean on foot, clear debris from the water by boats and scour riverbeds in scuba gear. About 250 miles of shoreline will be covered.
Last year, 4,330 men, women and children picked up 121 tons of trash from 212 miles of shoreline, said Robert K. Dean, founder and chairman of Clean the Bay Day.
While the numbers of volunteers have fluctuated each year, the volume of trash collected has steadily climbed.
``It will probably be our biggest year ever, especially in the amount that's picked up,'' Dean said. ``We've gotten so scientific in our methodology in finding out where the trash is and getting out there to pick it up.''
For example, 1,000 people typically combed the Virginia Beach Oceanfront for garbage. But because Virginia Beach runs beach sweepers nightly, there was little left to clean up other than cigarette butts. This year, those volunteers will be redirected to dirtier areas, such as the Elizabeth River.
``We're finding the Elizabeth River is in really bad shape,'' Dean said. ``It's beyond comprehension.''
Trash weighing more than 21 tons was collected last year from around the Campostella Bridge along the Elizabeth River in Norfolk where heavy industrial waste is dumped. Much more was left on shore for lack of time, manpower and equipment.
Each year, the Center for Marine Conservation in Hampton tallies the numbers and weighs the garbage collected during Clean the Bay Day.
The center reports that cigarette butts represented almost 32 percent of the total debris and lead the ``Dirty Dozen'' list of the most commonly found trash on our shorelines.
Not only is this pollution aesthetically revolting, but it also poses health dangers to people as well as to animal and plant life, organizers point out.
Six-pack rings ensnare birds, fish and seals, often strangling them.
Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and eat them. The turtles die because they cannot digest the plastic.
Large appliances dumped in marshlands rust, killing plants and damaging habitats for wildlife.
And syringes, tampon applicators and condoms can carry body fluids and are a health risk to humans and animals.
by CNB