Plumb, Gerritsen Beaches To Be Cleaned As Part Of “Clean Streets = Clean Beaches.”

There will soon be less trash scattered around Plumb Beach and Gerritsen Beach, as New York City and the Environmental Protection Agency launch the “Clean Streets = Clean Beaches 2012” program, bringing volunteer cleanups to our shores.

Clean Streets = Clean Beaches is a beach cleanup program geared towards enhancing the quality of New York City’s beaches by putting an end to littering. A total of six city beaches will be cleaned as part of this initiative. Posters will be exhibited at beaches and on 2,000 New York City sanitation vehicles.

The program was initiated at MCU Park at Coney Island, when U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Region 2 Administrator George Pavlou and several commissioners threw out the first pitch of a Brooklyn Cyclones game. Environmental Protection staff also handed out “Clean Streets = Clean Beaches” flier toys to around 5,000 children present.

“The Clean Streets = Clean Beaches campaign stresses the importance of cooperation, not only among federal and city agencies, but also among all New Yorkers,” Department of Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty said. “Keeping New York City and our local beaches clean and beautiful is everybody’s responsibility. Through DSNY cleaning efforts, and those of various partnerships and public participation, New York City remains the cleanest it’s been in 35 years.”

“Clean Streets-Clean Beaches,” has existed since the early 1990s, and has served as a means of connecting garbage in the streets and on the beaches. Each year, trash thrown onto the streets and parks of New York City can be washed into the city sewer system and soon appear on beaches.

The 2012 “Clean Streets = Clean Beaches” program will feature volunteer beach cleanups at Gerritsen, Kaiser Park, and Plumb Beaches in Brooklyn, Pugsley Creek Park in the Bronx, Conference House Beach in Staten Island, and Rockaway Beach in Queens. The Department of Environmental Protection will place their staff at entrances of New York City beaches to offer reusable tote bags for visitors’ disposable plastic or paper bags, in an effort to reduce litter and preserve the environment.

This program will take place on August 12.

Want to help make your local beaches cleaner? Join the campaign and help the city achieve their goals. For information on volunteering,or visit www.nyc.gov.