This past weekend, we participated in Alice Ferguson Foundation's 33rd Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup by hosting 2 cleanups onsite!
Friday, April 9th, we joined forces with a Waldorf Homeschool group and tackled Bull's Cove on the Charles County border of our park. Below are the trash totals, collected by 2 talented youngsters and their parents.
Total trash bags collected: 1.5 bags
Total recycling bags collected: 1 bag
Items found:
Metal Cans (soda/food) - 1
Cigarette Butts - 3
Tennis Balls - 4
Fast Food containers - 12
Liquor bottles - 1
Plastic bottles - 96
Glass bottles - 2
Food wrappers - 6
Bottle caps (plastic) - 74
Bottle caps (metal) - 3
Fishing line - 1
Fishing gear (hooks/bobbers) - 7
Disposable masks - 4
Toys - 2
Straws (disposable) - 19
Appliances (washer/heater/etc...) - 1 *hot water heater*
Sharps (syringes, etc...) - 4
Household items (bags, etc..) - 1
Other items (not listed above) - 61
Microplastics (by the handful) - 2 handfuls
Coolest items found:
Water heater
toy dinosaur
Medical wrist band
Duck decoy
Check out these photos of the cleanup!
Saturday, April 10th, we hosted 10 individuals who came out and tackled our Boat Dock, Fishing Pier, and Kayak Launch locations. Data totals reported are below:
Total trash bags collected: 6 bags
Total recycling bags collected: 4 bags
Coolest Items found:
Toy monkey
Large plastic bin
Nike Slide
flip flops
Syringes
Lighters
Masks (disposable)
Microplastics (by the handful) - 95 handfuls!
While the data amounts indicate trash amounts have been lower on our shorelines, we've noticed a shift from larger items that attract the eye to handfuls of microplastics blending into the driftwood and shells. The data report from the Kayak Launch shows a higher level of plastic straws and soda/beer bottles than the Boat Dock and Fishing Pier. This report also noted high levels of microplastics being collected - the unique structure of the Kayak launch shoreline makes it the perfect place for larger items to be broken up into smaller pieces.
Also, reports on disposable masks being found on the shoreline are high this year. They serve as a good reminder that regardless of our situation, we need to keep in mind where our trash is going!
A huge THANK YOU to the 14 volunteers who came out last week and helped to clean up the Potomac River Shoreline #PotomacCleanup. As we celebrate #NationalVolunteerWeek this week, a special shout out to all of our current volunteers who came out to support the Potomac Watershed cleanups