THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406150187
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSAN SMITH, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: Long
It was the sixth annual ``Clean the Bay Day.''
{REST} Volunteer trash collectors were participating, along with other Hampton Roads citizens, in a regionwide effort to clean up dangerous and unsightly litter from backyards, parks, rivers and canals.
The Chesapeake volunteers removed 15,959 pounds of debris from 12 miles of the Elizabeth River, Indian River, Northwest River and Deep Creek. Some groups combed the banks of the streams while others navigated the waterways in search of floating refuse. The trash was packed away in plastic bags donated by the Mobile Oil Corp.
The Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council, with help from the Special Pro-grams Office of the Parks and Recreation Department, sponsored the local effort.
The Elizabeth River Boat Landing and Park, the Great Bridge Lock Park, the Northwest River Park and Deep Creek Lock Park are virtually litter-free this week as a result of the efforts of the volunteer crews.
Like scavengers, the cleanup crews collected cups, cans, fast food containers, tires, carpet, rusted metal objects, rotted wood, a shopping cart, a small bicycle and cigarette butts. In the commercial shipping areas, a large number of tires, ropes, auto parts, buckets and building materials were collected from the water and shoreline.
The Fleet Surveillance Support Command team from Northwest Naval Security Group, the South Norfolk Ruritan Club, the Chesapeake Bay Youth Conservation Corps and a group from Tidewater Community College's Chesapeake campus worked the Elizabeth River Boat Landing and Park.
Edward Estes gave his team a safety talk about the importance of using gloves and watching out for rusted objects. He warned several giggling teens to be careful not to fall into the water.
Then, equipped with garbage bags, Estes' team set out on its mission. It was only about six steps to the first target. An empty doughnut box, two drink cans, a crumpled potato chip bag and a handful of cigarette butts littered a spot near the picnic shelter. Two feet away sat an almost empty trash barrel.
Estes became involved in cleanup projects in 1985, when he was stationed in Florida.
``I looked across the marshes and saw beer cans and picnic trash instead of wildlife,'' said Estes. ``I knew something had to be done.''
Steve Bittner agreed.
``If everyone would take care of their own garbage and then reach out to pick up someone else's mess, we could all make a difference,'' Bittner said. ``And we have to do this every day, not just once a year.''
Richard Hutt, a camera operator for WCTV, Channel 23, stood on the dock to film a pleasing view of the boats and shoreline. Then he panned his camera toward the bottles, cans and discarded tires on the beach.
A crew paddled along, spearing plastic bags and scooping in paper that floated like dead fish in the water. Instead of sunken treasures, they pulled up mud-encrusted beer cans.
``I'm helping, too, '' said Jenna Washnieski, 3, as she planted her feet, braced herself and held open a garbage bag.
Megan Estes, 9, Chad Nelson, 9, Ashley Washnieski, 7, and Joey Washnieski, 5, ran to bring their finds to Jenna's open bag.
General Veneble Jr. of the Northwest Naval Security Group gave up a track meet to participate in ``Clean the Bay Day.''
``I'm originally from this area, and I used to go crabbing here,'' said Veneble. ``I want to be able to bring my daughter back here to a clean park.''
By midmorning, the Elizabeth River Park team had a discarded air conditioner, a bathroom sink and a toilet in their growing trash pile. Later, the trash would be picked up by the Chesapeake Public Works Solid Waste Division and hauled to the landfill in trucks.
The volunteers kept careful records of what they found, so that the kinds of trash that pollute the waterways can be documented.
Tracye Fone of Indian River High School's ecology club put another check on her records as John Riddick dropped a can and a weathered board into their bag. Then Fone pointed to a battery, a roll of muddy carpet, a scrub brush and a large piece of Styrofoam they had pulled from under the bushes near the landing.
Each team filled out a data card as they worked. The inventory sheet had a section for plastic, styrofoam, glass, rubber, metal, paper, wood and cloth. The data cards will be given to the Center for Marine Conservation for their Clean Ocean Campaign and National Marine Debris Data base. The information will be added to an areawide study of the sources of waterway pollution.
Girl Scout Troop 690 of Great Bridge fanned out along the banks of Great Bridge Lock Park. Brandi Hall, Jami Beddegrew, Nicole Hoskins, Tara Higgerson and Heather Hawkin gathered fishing line and tossed empty cans into bags. They carefully examined a rusted, red crab pot before placing it with the other trash.
Girl Scout troops 132 and 539 moved through the area filling bag after bag with bits of paper, cans and cigarette butts.
Despite their small size, cigarette butts were one of the most common types of litter and it was almost impossible to remove all of them from the ground and water.
``It's like people use the ground for an ashtray,'' grumbled one worker.
``Fishermen should be ashamed,'' said Lester Adkins. He shook his head at all the discarded fishing line, oil cans and plastic six pack holders.
``Either don't take it to the water or take a garbage bag. When I go out in my boat what goes in the boat comes home in the boat,'' added Adkins.
``Trash is not only ugly,'' said Gail Bradshaw of the Special Programs Office. ``It kills. Animals get entangled or swallow plastic and die.''
A Boy Scout troop from Messiah United Methodist Church signed up for ``Clean the Bay Day'' as a community service project. They found empty liquor bottles and discarded beer cans in an area of the park where the use of alcohol is not permitted.
Cub Scouts from Packs 6, 56 and 57 picked up around the swings and picnic table areas. Like daredevil explorers, they had the most fun crawling under the bushes and into the undergrowth for windblown paper plates and cups. They even found a toothbrush someone had tossed away. One Scout found a complete set of clothes.
But their most exciting discovery of the day did not go into the trash bag: It was a dead snake.
Kerry Goldmeyer, recent appointee to the Chesapeake Environmental Improvement Council, was zone captain for volunteers at Great Bridge Lock Park. ``Sign me up for next year,'' she said. ``It is the most wonderful feeling to know that this many people will come out on a cloudy Saturday morning because they care about their community.''
Great Bridge High School students and members of the Kiwanis-affiliated Key Club spruced up the Northwest River Park area.
Pam Smith of the Naval Management Systems Support Office, a zone captain, said members of her team found a mailbox and the lid to a clothes dryer in the park.
Joe Young, another zone captain, and his team from Young's Auto Body Shop took on the challenge of the Indian River.
Zone captains Mike Kirsch and Richard Siff worked Deep Creek. The Deep Creek Ruritan Club and the Izaak Walton League of America, Norfolk/Chesapeake Chapter 095, formed a flotilla of small boats. They turned up a 4-foot shower enclosure, plywood panels, a bicycle and 25 bags of aluminum cans.
Businesses along the waterway were strong supporters of the cleanup campaign. Workers from Sadler Materials Corp., Texaco Lubricants, Huntsman Chemical Corp., Atlantic Energy Inc. and Elizabeth River Terminals collected concrete blocks, hubcaps, buoys, a 15-foot piling, stacks of tires and a ball of aluminum the size of a basketball.
``The 18 members of the Environmental Improvement Council are appointed by the mayor,'' said Bradshaw. ``But it takes many, many citizens to volunteer to help keep the environmental programs active. We need volunteers to encourage citizens to recycle, to help beautify the city and to discourage others from littering.''
``Most of the items collected during `Clean the Bay Day' were just plain litter items or things deliberately left behind,'' continued Bradshaw. ``Littering is against the law. It's not only an eyesore, but it's an endangerment to our community and to our wildlife.''
{KEYWORDS} CHESAPEAKE BAY CLEAN THE BAY DAY POLLUTION ENVIRONMENT
by CNB