By MADDY VITALE
Sara Masciantonio, of Egg Harbor Township, bundled up, grabbed a bucket and trash bag, and along with her daughter, Bella, hit the Ocean City beaches.
No, they weren’t collecting shells or searching for hidden treasures – they were picking up trash on a windy Saturday to help beautify the beaches for the sake of people who enjoy nature, marine life and other wildlife.
“We’ve collected a lot,” Masciantonio said as she trudged along with a big black trash bag filled with an assortment of litter and debris. “This is heavy.”
Masciantonio was joined by nearly 100 other participants who removed trash on the beaches and dunes for the annual statewide Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep.
“We found mainly a lot of plastic, plastic straws, spoons, cigarette butts,” Masciantonio said. “Bella found big pipes.”
The goal of the mother and daughter duo was to do something healthy together.
“We are thinking we would do it every weekend. We want to clean the beach and have fun,” she noted. “Since Bella’s only 10, it’s hard to keep her entertained.”
Bella definitely was busy and enjoying the fresh air, she said.
“My favorite part is probably getting outside and exploring nature and getting a nice breeze,” Bella said. “It’s a good workout for me and it’s a lot of fun.”
Like the Masciantonios, other volunteers checked in and picked up their supplies at the Ocean City Music Pier.
Victoria Puga, of the Public Works Department, is Ocean City’s New Jersey Clean Communities coordinator. She noted that there was plenty of participation this year from people who care about the environment and beautifying the beaches.
“We had about 100 participants come from all of the different groups. We had Girl Scout groups come, different businesses participated, too, so there was a big turnout,” Puga said nearing noon at the end of the three-hour beach cleanup.
Puga, along with Kelliann Jones, also of the Public Works Department, took people’s cards that listed the many pieces of trash that they collected.
Then the heaps of trash bags were stacked on a Public Works truck to be hauled away.
Puga and Jones noted that, like most years, cigarette butts, plastic bottles and other plastics top the list of trash that is picked up thanks to the hard work of volunteers who, like them, want to keep the beaches as clean as possible.
