GLIN==> Annual Adopt-a-Beach Cleanup Saturday, Sept. 25

ALLIANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                          Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 
 
            
Adopt-a-BeachT Volunteers Play Vital Role Safeguarding Beaches
Volunteer for this year's September Adopt-a-BeachT Cleanup Event this Saturday, Sept. 25 and join a growing cadre of volunteers whose help is needed more and more to safeguard our Great Lakes shores.
Participants in four Great Lakes states - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin -- will remove and record data on thousands of pounds of trash found on beaches this year, which marks the Alliance's 20th anniversary of hosting the one-day event.
In addition to clearing beaches and identifying the most prevalent sources of litter - data that further the Alliance's efforts to curb beach trash -- beach adopters have stepped up to serve in a role that may grow increasingly important in this era of climate change.
In August, Adopt-a-BeachT participants joined shoreline property owners for the second time in two years to respond to a major trash wash up on west Michigan's shores. The wash up - which included debris such as food wrappers, cigars, tampons and syringes -- followed flooding rains that overwhelmed treatment plants in Chicago and Milwaukee and forced massive releases into Lake Michigan.
All totaled, the plants flushed some 8.5 billion gallons of sewage mixed with stormwater and the street litter it ferries. Combined sewer systems that collect and treat both stormwater and sanitary sewage -- and together overwhelm treatment plants during heavy rains -- are the main culprit. With global climate change forecast to deliver rain to the region in more frequent heavy downpours, such incidents may be on the rise.
"Communities are finding that having a local Adopt-a-BeachT team in place has benefits that reach beyond routine cleanups in times of emergency, such as we've seen in west Michigan," said  Jamie Cross, manager of the Alliance's Adopt-a-BeachT program.
Over time, the benefits of routine beach cleanups can be measured in tons. More than 152 tons of litter and debris have been removed from Great Lakes shorelines since the Alliance began hosting the September cleanup in 1991. 
Volunteers in last year's one-day event numbered more than 5,682 in three Great Lakes states, removing 18,100 pounds of trash from 145 locations in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. This year the Alliance also takes on the state of Wisconsin, serving for the first time as state coordinator of the Wisconsin coastal cleanup.   
The cleanup, which coincides with the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day - the world's largest shoreline cleanup -- is open to all, including families, individuals, businesses, schools and community groups.  
Dates and times for the event may vary depending upon location. Volunteers are encouraged to check the Alliance's registration website for up-to-date information. 
To register online, see http://www.greatlakesadopt.org/home.php. For more on the Alliance's year-round Adopt-a-BeachT program, see http://www.greatlakes.org/adoptabeach.
Contacts
Illinois and Indiana: Frances Canonizado, 312-939-0838 x227 or fcanonizado at greatlakes.org
Michigan:  Jamie Cross, 866-850-0745 x12 (toll-free), or jcross at greatlakes.org
Wisconsin: Todd Brennan, 414-559-0317 or tbrennan at greatlakes.org

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Formed in 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is the oldest independent citizens' organization in North America. Its mission is to conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. More about the Alliance for the Great Lakes is online at www.greatlakes.org. 

Susan Campbell
Communications Manager
Alliance for the Great Lakes
414-540-0699
Visit http://www.greatlakes.org
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