Down the Shore, they cleaned up the ‘Dirty Dozen’

A Baby Yoda, a voodoo doll, and a plastic dinosaur popular in the 1960s found their way down the Shore, all among the 176,206 pieces of debris found on New Jersey beaches in 2023, according to Clean Ocean Action’s latest report.

The nonprofit has held spring and fall Beach Sweeps twice a year since 1985. Their “Roster of the Ridiculous” features the weirdest finds from the events, categorized in the report with a sense of humor implied by the list’s title. Some of the categories: In the Money; Land of the Misfit Toys; Dude, Where’s My Car? and Play Ball!

Through the decades there has been no shortage of the unusual. In the ‘90s, debris collected included a deck of playing cards featuring nudes, a plastic Santa head, and medical waste. In the 2000s, finds have included vacuums, an adult-size Elmo costume, a rubber brain, a whoopie cushion, rosary beads, bike parts, a “Danger high voltage” metal sign, a wooden ladder, and pregnancy tests.

As it does each year, Clean Ocean Action’s 2023 report contains the 12 most common items that volunteers found during Beach Sweeps.

Plastic bottle caps and lids took top honors as the most abundant items, with 23,788 collected. And, for the first time in 16 years, metal beverage cans returned to the ignominious list with more than 4,000 of them picked up.

Also on that list: foam plastic, PPE, rubber, paper, cloth, wood, and glass.

On a positive note, 2023 marked the first time since 2015 that plastic hadn’t made up 80% or more of what was collected. But, it still accounted for 71.13% of items found.

There also seems to be less debris compared to the last four years. However, the spring cleanup was called off last year due to a weather emergency and had to be rescheduled without much advance notice. Plus, the fall cleanup was held in bad weather, so the number of total volunteers was down for 2023, organizers said.

“Volunteers showing up is what help us collect the most debris and get it off our beaches,” said spokesperson Kiana Miranda. “Understanding what happens to the trash and the things we dispose of it’s a connection moment. It brings it to real life.”

More than 3,600 people volunteered in 2023. In previous years as many as 10,724 participants showed up to comb 75 beaches along the New Jersey shoreline, even bringing along helpers like Hamlette the mini-pig, whose presence at Ortley Beach in Toms River heightened awareness to the cause.

For the 2024 season, the scheduled cleanup dates are April 13 and Oct. 19, rain or shine. Registration for the spring Beach Sweep is open.

Times of collection depend on the beach but will fall between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Children are welcome to attend, with adult supervision, and information is available in English and Spanish.

Miranda encourages beach goers to “grab your buckets and be part of making that change.” Maybe you will discover the next quirky item to be added to the “Roster of the Ridiculous.”