More than 500 pounds of trash picked up at a Milford beach

Shown in photo: Volunteers show off their collection from the beach cleanup at Smith’s Point in Milford.

Local volunteers recently cleaned up the beach cleanup at the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point. Save the Sound is the Connecticut coordinator for the annual International Coastal Cleanup, during which volunteers worldwide cleanup up beaches and record data about litter they find. More than a mile of barrier beach was cleaned and an estimated 500 pounds of trash was cleared from Smith’s Point, a popular spot for nesting birds, striped bass and fishermen, according to a Save the Sound statement. Plastic and Styrofoam were the most common items picked up, it said.

Smith’s Point and the adjacent 840-acre Wheeler Salt Marsh act as a sponge, collecting debris floating down the Housatonic River. Last fall, 1,500 volunteers collected more than 9,000 pounds of trash, cleaning up 45 miles of Connecticut beaches and riverfronts. Data recorded by cleanup volunteers is given to the Ocean Conservancy, which compiles and studies it to learn more about the global debris problem, educated the public, and helps to find solutions to stopping marine debris at its source. For more information about Save the Sound, or to organize a cleanup, call Kierran Broatch at (203) 787-0646 Ex. 113.