United By Blue Heads Saturday Sunset Lake Cleanup
Volunteers needed to reach 300 pound trash removal goal
Local Asbury Park Boardwalk summer retailer United by Blue will host a Sunset Lake Clean-up from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
And, as an incentive for anyone who volunteers for the two-hour event, the Philadelphia headquartered retailer has partnered with fellow AP Boardwalk venue Hoagitos, The Jersey Collective and Mindful Café to provide gratis coffee and coupons for a free gourmet mini sub.
Volunteers can expect a friendly competition for prizes throughout the cleanup, in addition to a wooden ‘Cleanup Coin,’ redeemable for a pair of organic cotton socks at the Asbury Park store located at 800 Ocean Ave.
Since its 2010 opening, the outdoor apparel and accessories company has been known for its active missions to protect our oceans and waterways via an edict to to remove one pound of trash for every product sold.
Founders Brian Linton and Mike Cangi have sought to instill a permanent culture of social and environmental stewardship and to use the company to draw national attention to the declining quality of our rivers and oceans, company officials said.
“For us, it’s more than sales,” Linton said in a written statement. “It’s about engaging with a community that is progressive, aware and motivated by improving our society.”
Saturday’s event marks their third Asbury Park cleanup and 162nd nation-wide.
To date, the company has removed over 318,000 lbs. of trash from rivers, creeks, canals, and ocean-fronts, officials said. They’ve rallied over 5,000 volunteers across 26 states, and removed 820 pounds of trash from Asbury Park’s waterways over the past year.
The volunteer endeavors are also used as a hands on education of the importance of preventing trash and plastics pollution.
“At the end of a cleanup, we hope that volunteers leave with a deeper understanding of how serious and urgent the issue of single-use plastic pollution is and what personal
measures they can take to protect water resources,” said Cleanup Director Kelly Offner.
As a matter of principle, the company does not write checks or accept donations; rather co-founders Linton and Cangi find greater satisfaction in fulfilling their pledge via the company-organized cleanup efforts, officials said.
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