Friday

Adopt-A-Beach volunteers find the coast is pretty clear

25th Annual Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup draws 9,133 volunteers
        
AUSTIN — More volunteers picked up less trash at the 25th Annual Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup Saturday, prompting speculation that — after 25 years — Texans are starting to get the message.

“Despite an amazing turnout, we picked up 20-percent less trash than last fall,” said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. “From Sabine Pass to Boca Chica, there was just less trash to be picked up. I think people get it: Trashing Texas Beaches isn’t Cool.”

A total of 9,133 volunteers picked up 136 tons of trash from 28 sites along 180 miles of the Texas coast Saturday.

Volunteers this year even reported finding fewer unusual items. Aside from a jock strap on South Padre Island, some Vietnamese toothpaste on Galveston Island, a pornographic video tape at Surfside and some Costa Rican coins in Calhoun County, volunteers mostly picked up a pedestrian mixture of cigarette butts and beer cans and other common items left by careless beachgoers.

The success of the Adopt-A-Beach program is due to the hard work and support of thousands of volunteers, including local coordinators who work many unpaid hours publicizing the cleanups in coastal communities. Since the beginning, 25 years ago, Shell Oil Company has supported the effort.  

Since 1986, more than 422,000 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 8,100 tons of trash from Texas beaches, some of it originating from as far away as Asia. Volunteers record data on the trash to learn more about the causes of marine debris and to help mitigate pollution along Texas’ 367 miles of coastline.

The next coastwide cleanup will be the Spring Adopt-A-Beach effort scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2012.

To learn more about items collected at the cleanup, and for information on the health of the Texas coast, visit the Adopt-A-Beach program Web site at www.texasadoptabeach.org, or contact the Texas General Land Office at 1-877-TXCOAST (1-877-892-6278). Keep up with all Adopt-A-Beach activities by joining us on Facebook, just search “Texas Adopt-A-Beach” to find our page on Facebook and click “like.”


— more —


County
Cleanup Site
Miles Cleaned
Volunteers
Tons Collected (lbs)


Aransas
Rockport Beach (Bay)
5.85
35
1.3
2,625
County Total
5.85
35
1.3
2,625
Brazoria
Surfside
14
610
12
23,850
Quintana, Bryan Beach
3
189
1.7
3,350
County Total
17
799
13.7
27,200
Calhoun
Port Lavaca, Magnolia Beach (Bay)
6
173
1.49
2,975
Port O' Connor, King Fisher Beach (Bay)
1.5
21
0.75
1,500
County Total
7.5
194
2.24
4,475
Cameron
South Padre Island Cameron County Parks
6
1,114
23.25
46,500
South Padre Island City Beaches
5
86
0.94
1,875
Boca Chica
6
699
1.94
3,890
County Total
17
1,899
26.13
52,265
Chambers
Chambers County
1
66
1.5
3,000
County Total
1
66
1.5
3,000
Galveston
Bolivar Peninsula
20
500
18.8
37,500
Galveston Island
32
2,764
16.9
33,750
Hwy 146 - Dickinson Bayou Boat Ramp (Bay)
1
58
2.9
5,780
John M. O' Quinn 1-45 Estuarial Corridor (Bay)
9.4
80
8
16,000
County Total
62.4
3,402
46.6
93,030
Harris
Horsepen Bayou (Bay)
8
182
0.67
1,348
County Total
8
182
0.67
1,348
Jefferson
McFaddin Beach
2.5
325
0.9
1,800
Sea Rim State Park
2.5
54
2.7
5,400
County Total
5
379
3.6
7,200
Kleberg and Nueces
Baffin Bay (Bay)
5
65
0.84
1,680
Padre Island National Seashore
5
284
2.95
5,900
Port Aransas & St. Jo Island
7.2
256
4
7,975
Mustang Island State Park
3.5
100
3.75
7,500
Corpus Christi Beach (Bay)
9
380
5.25
10,500
North Padre Island
6
499
2.15
4,300
Aransas Pass (Bay)
2
40
1
2,000
County Total
37.7
1,624
19.94
39,855
Matagorda
Sargent Beach
6
109
5.8
11,589
Matagorda Beach
5
265
12.5
25,000
Palacios (Bay)
3
75
0.61
1,225
County Total
14
449
18.91
37,814
Refugio
Austwell Pier (Bay)
1
52
0.3
600
County Total
1
52
0.3
600
San Patricio
Portland, Sunset Lake Park (Bay)
3.5
52
1.4
2,800
County Total
3.5
52
1.4
2,800
Total
Fall 2011
179.95
9,133
136.3
272,212







Total Bay Miles
55.25




Total Beach Miles
124.7















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Funding Factory Helps Organizations Raise Money Through Recycling


Posted by The Green Groove ⋅ September 21, 2011 ⋅ Leave a Comment
Filed Under recycling
I wanted to see if there was a way to raise money and save on filling landfills at the same time and here is something I think is perfect.
If you’re interested in raising money for a local school system or nonprofit organization, and you’re a fan of recycling, then you should consider registering with the Funding Factory. The Funding Factory is the largest fundraising-thru-recycling program in the United States.
The program uses a point system that accumulates and deposits points directly into a fundraising account. These points can be redeemed for money, or they can be used to purchase items such as art supplies and sporting equipment from an online catalogue.
Being a part of the program is super easy. You basically follow three steps:
Step 1: You register your business.
Step 2: You collect recyclables such as ink cartridges, cell phones, laptops and small electronics.
Step 3: You ship these items to the Funding Factory using pre-paid UPS labels.
Once your items are received you can choose your cash reward, or purchase something like a new computer for a school that desperately needs it.
Watch this video to see how West Boylston Public Schools in Massachusetts raised over $40,000:
Since the program began in 1997 it has partnered with over 50,000 schools and nonprofit organizations. Participants have earned over $20 million in rewards and over 21 million pounds of waste have been recycled and diverted from landfills.
Follow the Funding Factory on Facebook.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUlyLvxoxxg&feature=player_embedded
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