Beach cleanup campaign launched in Coney

Outside MCU Park in Coney Island, the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched their Clean Streets= Clean Beaches anti-littering campaign on Tuesday, July 8.

The Clean Streets=Clean Beaches campaign is a beach cleanup program aimed at improving the cleanliness of city beaches by reducing littering on streets and in parks. With the help of 100 young New Yorkers in the NYC Summer Youth Employment Programs, the agencies will be collecting litter along the shorelines and beaches. Also part of the program are the city’s Department of Sanitation and the city’s Parks Department.

“Each summer since the early 1990s, New York City has partnered with the federal government to inform New Yorkers about how trash and debris that is discarded on our streets can be washed into the sewer system and discharge in the local waterways,” said New York City DEP Commissioner Emily Lloyd.

In addition, to discourage the use of disposable plastic bags, DEP will distribute thousands of reusable tote bags at city beaches throughout the summer.

“If we want to preserve the beach ecosystem and wildlife for future generations, then we need to do our part now,” said Joan Leary Matthews, director of clean water for EPA’s Region 2. “When it rains, you don’t go to the beach, your trash does. So let’s continue to show pride by keeping New York City clean.”