COLUMBUS, OH -- Volunteer clean-up activities associated with this year's Ohio Coastweeks collected 10,235 pounds of trash from the shoreline of Lake Erie and its tributaries, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). Ohio Coastweeks ran from August 24 to September 22.
Beach clean-ups and stream sweeps are a popular aspect of the annual Coastweeks observance, said Jeff Busch, executive director of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission (LEC), which coordinates Ohios Coastweeks. This year was no exception - with more than 500 volunteers pitching in to remove discarded items to make Lake Erie a cleaner place for everyone.
Volunteers combed more than 40 miles of beaches and waterways during the month-long observance, picking up everything from crutches to clarinets and water heaters to computers. They gathered enough discarded tires to outfit 39 motor vehicles!
It's discouraging what people discard into the lake, Busch said. For instance, we recover many boat batteries whenever we have a marina cleanup - indicating that when some people replace their engine battery, they simply toss the old one over the side.
A complete list of beach and stream clean-up results (by county) appears on the LEC web site at www.epa.state.oh.us/oleo
Coastweeks is designed to teach visitors and residents how they can protect and preserve Ohio's Great Lake. For the last 11 years, Ohio's Coastweeks has offered exciting and educational events for people of all ages. The beachfront clean ups, which are a major feature of Coastweeks, are part of an international volunteer effort sponsored by The Ocean Conservancy to keep coastlines clean and pristine around the world.
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission was established for the purpose of preserving Lake Erie's natural resources, protecting the quality of its waters and ecosystem, and promoting economic development of the region. It is made up of the directors of Ohio's departments of natural resources, environmental protection, transportation, development, health and agriculture.