Coastsweep

More than 50 citizen volunteers cleaned the Harwich harbor coastline and local beaches on Saturday, September 15, 2012. The Coastsweep event was coordinated by the Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) with support from the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association and the Town of Harwich Natural Resources Department.  More than 400 pounds of trash were collected, including 1,055 cigarette butts, 136 plastic bags, 72 paper bags, 32 balloons, 106 beverage cans, 166 plastic beverage bottles, 153 plastic beverage bottles, 39 articles of clothing and shoes, 344 food wrappers and containers, 8 bait containers, 10 buoys, 78 feet of rope, 2 fishing nets, 1 crab/lobster/fish trap, 86 straws, 8 shotgun shells, and other debris.    The waterfront areas included Red River Beach, Neil Road Beach, Wychmere Harbor, Allen Harbor, Bank St. Beach, Earle Rd. Beach, Grey Neck Beach, Herring River Landing (Rt. 28 bridge), Pleasant Bay Beach at Bay Rd., and Pleasant St. Beach.  This effort was part of the statewide COASTSWEEP campaign (www.coastsweep.umb.edu), the Commonwealth’s annual coastal cleanup program, organized by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.