Autumn arrived on September 22, and with it a series of annual fall community cleanups of beaches, streets, and waterways. One of the first cleanups to take place this fall occurred on Saturday, September 26, 2009 near Pews Creek, along Bray Avenue in the Port Monmouth section of Middletown Township.  Even though Pews Creek is not a well-known name to many people, this 1.7 mile long tidal waterway is an important part of the drainage area to Sandy Hook Bay. If we truly hope to clean up the bay, then we have to dedicate time to cleaning up the pollution from small urban waterways that seep in daily to the bay.
 
The Pews Creek Cleanup event was hosted by the NY-NJ BayKeeper, the Bayshore Regional Watershed Council, and the Middletown Environmental Commission.  The event drew over 20 people, mostly local residents. 
 
The volunteers scoured the wetlands for trash between 10am to noon picking up around 500 pounds of debris by day’s end. Most of the junk being discarded cigarette butts, plastic bottles, food wrappers, fishing line, fishing lures, straws, and bottle caps. Past creek cleanups have shown that up to 85 percent of this trash arrived from inland sources, passing over streets and through storm drains, and finally out to Pews Creek.

Unfortunately, all the garbage came from people. It was the only reason why the trash was there. If volunteers did not pick up other people’s trash, it would have caused the untimely death to countless species of marine life, which accidentally swallow trash thinking it is food, or feed it to their young.

All of us need to work together to educate people on ways to better manage trash.

First and foremost – DON’T POLLUTE! There are enough garbage cans or trash cans for people not to throw plastic bottles, cigarette butts, or other forms of trash on the street. Better yet, reduce, reuse, and recycle the amount of garbage you use each day.

Make sure to throw your leftover garbage in a garbage can that has a lid, so it will not blow around.

Moreover, while it’s not fun to pick up after others, please try to pick up a few pieces of trash that others have left behind, resulting in a cleaner area for everyone. Maybe someone will see you and get the hint!

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