More than One Use

A place to play and stay. Don't trash Barnegat Bay.

Too many bags, bottles, cups, and straws are designed for just one use before being tossed away—often ending up as litter. Single-use plastics are especially harmful because they linger in the environment for years. Many of these items find their way into creeks and rivers that feed into Barnegat Bay, polluting the water, endangering marine life, and spoiling the experience of swimming and fishing—not just today, but for the future.
litter trash plastic bottle
Photo credit: Harry Wedzinga
Prevent pollution shoreboardMan with BBP bag
woman drinking water out of a bottle
Photo credit: Kieferpix
highschool blitz

Care for the Bay

Reuse and Get Past Single-Use Plastic

No one wants to see a plastic bag or bottle drifting by while clamming or swimming in Barnegat Bay, or wrappers scattered across the beach. We cherish Barnegat Bay and want to keep it clean and thriving for ourselves and the wildlife that call it home. Choose reusable containers—Barnegat Bay is worth it!

Bring Your Own Bag

Many plastic bags wind up in our waterways and the bay. For shopping and take-out food, bring your own reusable bag.

Use a Reusable Straw, or Skip the Straw

Plastic straws are also one of the most littered plastic items. Reusable straws are available in a variety of materials, including stainless steel and silicone. Skip the straw, or use a reusable one.
Green background and recycling
Photo credit: Valeriy Kachaev

Bring Your Own Cup

Keep a reusable coffee cup or mug in your bag, at work or in your car.

Carry a Reusable Water Bottle

Plastic water bottles are one of the most commonly found items during community cleanups in the Barnegat Bay watershed. Invest in a reusable water bottle to cut waste and save money.

The Problem With Plastic

In 2018 alone, 35.7 million tons of plastic were generated in the United States. While plastic can be useful to preserve food or to package some items, it is important to understand the detrimental impacts it has on the environment, and what you can do to help reduce those impacts.

Plastic waste usage from 1960-2018.

Plastic waste affects water quality, endangers plants and animals, and pollutes the outdoor spaces that we depend on for tourism and recreation. Plastic items are particularly concerning because of their tendency to persist in the environment.

Animals that become entangled in debris risk suffocating or drowning. Many species mistake plastic debris for food or inadvertently ingest it while feeding or swimming. Once ingested, the plastic can damage an animal’s digestive tract and interfere with its ability to feed, even leading to starvation.

Plastics waste management
Photo credit: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Source: EPA 2022
Microplastics and nurdles

Microplastics collected

Most plastic materials are petroleum-based. Chemicals, such as flame retardants and pigments, are often added to provide specific properties. When exposed to sunlight or other environmental factors, chemical toxins in plastics can be released into the soil and water.

Often, plastic pollution fragments into smaller plastic particles called “microplastics,” which are less than 5 mm in size. Ingestion of microplastic particles can expose aquatic life to the chemicals used to produce the plastic material itself as well as pollutants in the environment that tend to accumulate on plastic particles.

Visit the EPA Trash Free Waters website to learn more about the impacts of aquatic trash and what you can do.

New Jersey Law

On Nov. 4, 2020, New Jersey enacted a comprehensive new law banning single-use plastic bags. The law aims to reduce the quantity of single-use plastics and prevent plastic pollution in our state. Effective as of May 4, 2022, it prohibits retailers from providing single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam food service products. Additionally, plastics straws are only provided to customers by request. Learn more about the law on the NJDEP’s Get Past Plastic website.

Thank you to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its support in developing the Barnegat Bay is Worth More Than One Use campaign.
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BBP and EPA poster

UNKNOWN

There is limited data available to quantify Wetland and Riparian Buffer Preservation, or updated data to quantify Wetland Acreage. The BBP has obtained funding and will begin assessment efforts for both targets, in the next few years.

 

 Hard Clam abundance has not been updated since 2012. Recovery of the stock will be guided by the Fishery Management Plan for Hard Clams, which is under development with the NJDEP, BBP, and other organizations. Reclam the Bay and other partners have continued to plant clams for restoration purposes. Continued plantings in strategic locations which maximize survival and reproduction is one strategy to pursue in the coming years. This work can use a model developed by Rutgers with BBP funding which identified areas where planted clams could have the greatest dispersal of their larvae and thus potentially maximally contribute to the recovery of the stock.

 Water Withdrawals were over the target in the 2021 report; USGS has not yet completed its latest update, so a definitive determination of status is not available. However, additional NJDEP data show that it is likely that we continue to not meet the target. Per capita water use has gone down, demonstrating the effectiveness of water-saving appliances and practices, but that decrease has been offset by population gains. 


IN PROGRESS

New maps quantifying Submerged Aquatic Vegetation extent were developed, but poor image clarity resulted in a high degree of uncertainty in the total acreage. NJDEP and Rutgers are working to resolve the uncertainty of these maps, and improve the total acreage estimate. Funding has also been obtained for further research and restoration activities. Several groups are developing potential restoration actions.

The USGS has completed the first phase of its study to identify minimum ecological flows in select Barnegat Bay tributaries. USGS scientists compared streamflow statistics between historical and current time periods to better understand trends in watershed flow conditions. This work provides a foundation for developing ecological flow targets in the Barnegat Bay watershed.  Similar to SAV extent, funding (approximately $450K) has been obtained by the BBP to complete the remaining phases necessary for threshold determination.

TARGETS ACHIEVED

No targets can be considered “Achieved” at this time.

 

NOT ACHIEVING

Several Public Swimming Beaches exceeded their safe swimming standards more frequently than during their baseline time period (2016-2018).

While most beaches are routinely safe for swimming, several problematic areas such as Beachwood, Hancock, Windward, and several lake beaches need track-down studies and restoration to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

Acres of Approved Shellfish Waters decreased from the last report. While this decrease was small, it represents a loss of previously approved waters. Similar to public beaches, track-down studies and restoration work are needed to pinpoint and address sources of bacteria.

 

More Than One Use

Reduce single-use plastics by switching to reusables and help keep the Bay free from harmful pollution. Small changes can make a big impact on protecting local wildlife and habitats.

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Fishing in a kayak