Big Sweep 2012

Plastic bottles, fishing line, cigarette butts, candy wrappers…. all have been found during the annual Big Sweep litter pick-up.

This year’s Big Sweep is Saturday. On Ocracoke, come to the lifeguard beach between 10 a.m. and noon to get you trash bags, gloves, and coastal clean-up data cards. (Big Sweep keeps track of the types and amount of trash picked up each year.) (1000 pounds in Hyde County last year!)

The non-profit North Carolina Big Sweep was founded in 1987 as Beach Sweep, but over the years the organization expanded their outreach to include all the state’s waterways, becoming Big Sweep in 1989.

The Big Sweep area on Ocracoke is the whole island, says local coordinator Howard Bennink.

“We are surrounded by waterways and not just at the beach.  There’s the soundside, Springer’s Point, Silver Lake, the marsh, the mosquito ditches – they’re all related,” he says.

Howard has been organizing the beach clean-up on Ocracoke since the 80’s. He says although there’s still a lot of plastics out on the beach, the village is cleaner than it was twenty years ago.

“I think there’s more awareness,” Howard said. “We don’t even see as many tossed beer bottles. Five to ten years ago the most prevalent litter was plastic water bottles. Now we don’t find as many. 

Howard thinks that perhaps people aren’t buying as much bottled water, or that they’re more aware of recycling.

“Over the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen a big difference,” he said. “With the emphasis on marine litter, maybe there’s a difference because they started to enforce maritime litter laws. Things are getting better and better.”

He also says that organizing the Big Sweep (just one day a year) has turned him into a year-round compulsive litter picker-upper. Maybe the program has had a good influence on others, too.

Howard can’t tell you exactly why there’s less litter, but he can show you the statistics. His favorite part of the Big Sweep is gathering the tally sheets that volunteers fill out.

“It’s fun to see what we actually find,” he said. “I enjoy crunching the numbers.”

Howard uses the Big Sweep data in his classes at Ocracoke School, where he is the middle school science teacher. The students use the data to make graphs, pie charts and percentages. Then they communicate their findings to other classes.

The Big Sweep isn’t just about litter clean-up. The data that is tallied can help affect change, influencing industry and legislative decisions. For instance, data showing that six-pack rings were dangerous to marine wildlife led to manufacturers using a more quickly bio-degradable plastic in response.

Howard and the kids enjoy unusual finds. After picking up fifty cigarette butts, it’s interesting to spot a t-shirt, a bunch of tangled fishing line, or random pieces of houses or boats.

Once the volunteers found a message in a bottle. The paper was waterlogged and tattered, but Howard preserved it and taped it so that it’s mostly legible. The young woman who wrote it was having a very bad day, but did decide to toss the bottle overboard off the ferry instead of herself. It’s a haunting letter, and Howard says he really hopes that wherever she is, she’s okay now.

The Big Sweep on Ocracoke usually brings out about 20 to 30 people, up to 40 people in record years. Howard encourages his students to participate, and says the high school Beta Club will be involved this year. Howard’s the Scout Master for the 3rd grade Bear Cubs – they’ll be earning a badge at the Big Sweep.

“I’ll probably get more high school kids now that there’s a community service requirement for graduation,” he said.

The Big Sweep is a great reason to spend a beautiful day at the beach and do a good deed at the same time. You might find something really amazing or at least some nice shells. 

Howard thinks the swell from tropical storm Nadine (way out at sea) might toss some debris on Ocracoke's beach. 

Not that Howard wishes we’d had a hurricane hit us this year, but he did mention that post-hurricane Big Sweeps are the most fun.

“All kinds of things wash up,” he said.

If you can’t make it to the lifeguard beach on Saturday between 10 – 12, but you still want to help, just give Howard a call at 928-1981. He can set you up with a garbage bag and data sheet, and you can work any part of the island.