SAVE THE DATE!
OUR 23rd Annual Beach Sweep will be held
Saturday, September 15, 2012
On Saturday, September 17, 2011, 1,740 volunteers came out to help clean 141 miles along streets, ditches and lakefront for our 22nd Annual Beach Sweep Clean Up. More than 14,900 lbs of trash was removed from streets, ditches and lakefront that could wash into waterways.
When Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) designated the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) 22 years ago as Zone Coordinator for the areas surrounding Lake Pontchartrain in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, and St. Bernard Parishes, the Beach Sweep clean up was born.
The Annual Beach Sweep to clean up the Lake Pontchartrain Basin is held the third Saturday in September on International Coastal Cleanup Day. Each year, the Beach Sweep is held in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. Volunteers and sponsors team up to help clean up the areas that drain into the Pontchartrain Basin. The Beach Sweep clean up is held from 9:00 am -12:00 noon and is followed by a picnic for all registered participants.
Sign Up to Clean Up!
This event is a wonderful opportunity to help preserve the quality of life in our Basin. Groups that wish to volunteer should elect a Zone Captain, who will be the contact person for your group. Your Zone Captain will then contact the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation to register your group and attend a meeting where LPBF will assign the zone to be cleaned and provide trash bags and data sheets to record the trash that has been picked up. On the day of Beach Sweep, the zone captains are responsible for organizing their group to bring rakes, shovels, gloves, etc. to their clean-up sites and handle any refreshments for their groups while cleaning their zones. Click here to see the flyer used to gather volunteers for LPBF's Beach Sweep 2011.
For more information or to sign up to volunteer for our 2012 sweep, please contact JoAnn at (504) 836-2238 or joann@saveourlake.org.
Sponsorship
While helping to Save Our Lake & Coast is the greatest reason to sponsor an LPBF event, there are many other benefits—including having your name placed on promotional materials and signage, recognition in our newsletters and Annual Report, tickets to special events, and more.
Sponsors receive several benefits, including recognition at the Beach Sweep Picnic held after the sweep. Click here for sponsorship information from 2011. For details on 2012 sponsorships, please contact Angela at (504) 836-7117 or angelap@saveourlake.org.
Take a look at our 2011 Sponsors & Volunteers.
Need More Information?
For more information on this event or others, please contact JoAnn at (504) 836-2238 or joann@saveourlake.org.
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Contributions to LPBF are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Marine Litter Statistics
from the Ocean Conservancy
Litter is a severe problem on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. We need to stop this problem by being thoughtful with our trash and by picking up any trash we see. Pontchartrain will appreciate it and we will too.
Marine and shoreline litter can come from anywhere and be blown in by wind or travel by rivers, streams, storm drains and marine currents. Litter can originate from recreational and commercial activities on or near the water such as fishing, picnicking, boating and commercial shipping, oil and gas rigs, cruise ships, and construction. These activities and many others cause our waterways to become unsightly and pose a risk to human and animal health.
Top 10 Litter Items Worldwide:
1. cigarettes/cigarette filters
2. bags
3. caps, lids
4. food containers/wrappers
5. cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons
6. plastic beverage bottles (2 liters or less)
7. glass beverage bottles
8. straws, stirrers
9. beverage cans
10. rope
Decomposition Rates
| Glass Bottle |
1,000,000 years |
| Monofolament fishing line |
600 years |
| Plastic beverage bottles |
450 year |
| Disposable diapers |
450 years |
| Aluminum can |
80-200 year |
| Foamed plastic buoy |
80 years |
| Rubber boat sole |
50-80 years |
| Foamed plastic cup |
50 years |
| Tin can |
50 years |
| Leather |
50 years |
| Nylon Fabric |
30-40 years |
| Plastic film canister |
20-30 years |
| Plastic Bag |
10-20 years |
| Cigarette filter |
1-50years |
| Wool sock |
1-5 years |
| Plywood |
1-3 years |
| Waxed milk carton |
3 months |
| Apple core |
2 months |
| Newspaper |
6 weeks |
| Orange or banana peel |
2-5 weeks |
| Paper towel |
2-4 weeks |
From: "Pocket Guide to Marine Debris," The Ocean Conservancy, 2004.
Sources: U.S National Park Service; Mote Marine Lab, FL and "Garbage In, Garbage Out," Audubon Magazine, Spt/Oct 1998
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