Keep Plastic Bottles Out Of The Hudson River This Holiday Weekend

OSSINING, NY — It's fun to get out on the river on a summer holiday. And with the weather looking good, boaters and bathers and waders and walkers will be on the banks of the Hudson River for the long Fourth of July weekend.

Just please, don't leave empty plastic bottles as litter.

During the 8th Annual Riverkeeper Sweep in May, when 2,400 volunteers cleaned the shorelines of the Hudson Valley and New York City, they removed a total of 32 tons of trash and debris from 122 locations.

And guess what? One of the most commonly found items in the shoreline trash – probably the most common – was plastic bottles. No other single item was quite as pervasive, either in the anecdotal reports from project leaders or in the detailed data collected at 11 of the 122 locations, Riverkeeper reported.

Overall, teams of volunteers, organized by schools, businesses, Scout troops, paddling groups, park staff and others, removed:

• 314 tires
• 32 tons of trash and debris
• 362 bags of recycling
• Various large debris including metal pipes, plywood, ropes, lawn chairs, garbage cans, plastic barrels, shopping carts, a snow blower, kitchen sink, toilet, car bumpers and steering wheel.

The bulk of the trash, though, is plastic. Every year. Sweep project leaders report to Riverkeeper on the overall volume of trash removed at their site and the most common items observed at their location.

The most frequently named item, by far, was plastic bottles (named by 35 of 65 project leaders who specified their most commonly seen items). That was followed by Styrofoam (named by 22 of 65 project leaders).

In detailed reports from 11 locations, plastic bottles tended to be among the top three items, more than any other item. At Scenic Hudson Park in Irvington, for example, volunteers counted 248 plastic bottles. Volunteers at Parkway Oval Park in Tuckahoe, on the Bronx River, counted 197.

In Ulster County, volunteers counted 123 plastic bottles – and 137 bottle caps – at Lighthouse Park and Esopus Meadows Preserve. Food wrappers were another widespread item at Sweep sites, along with bits of broken-down plastic and foam.

"Seeing the amounts of plastic and foam washing up on the shoreline really shows the scale of the problem, and it fires people up to push for solutions, said Jen Benson, Riverkeeper Outreach Coordinator. “In just one day, we removed 32 tons of trash, and most of it, yet again, was plastic. The numbers help tell the story, and add urgency to our efforts to reduce our reliance on single-use plastic.

"We are making progress, and yet there is so much more we can do."

Trash enters the Hudson River and its tributaries from a variety of sources, including street garbage that washes into storm drains, illegal dumping, and littering. Much of it washes up on the shoreline – harming wildlife, threatening public health, and affecting the economic vitality of Hudson River communities.

Over eight years, Riverkeeper Sweep volunteers have removed 259 tons of debris, including 28 tons of recycling, and 1,365 tires. Additional local cleanups take place during the year.

Have a happy 4th and don't make their jobs harder!