PARKS & RECREATION
|
PLANNING
|
PLANNING BOARD
THE MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION
About XT
What is Xtreme Teens?
Where To Find Us
Total Access: Youth ID Cards
Dates Worth Knowing
Parents
Positive Opportunities
Partners
Youth Partnerships
Give A Kid A Chance
Community
Street Team
Request Xtreme Teens Street Team
Accessibility and Inclusion
M-NCPPC Rules & Regulations
Contact Us
Social Media
Hot Happenings
Calendar of Events
Find a Class or Activity
Signature Events
NFL Punt Pass & Kick
Open Houses
Rock The Boat
Scholar Dollar
Teen Vocal Showcase
Xtreme Teens Night at the County Fair
Programs
Building Block
Building Block Photo Gallery
Fashion Bootcamp
Fashion Bootcamp Photo Gallery
Mis Quince Años
Positive Pathways
Positive Pathways Photo Gallery
Safe Summer
Safe Summer Locations
Safe Summer Photo Gallery
Safe Summer Pledge Contest 2010
Teen Cotillion
Join Teen Cotillion
2010 Teen Cotillion Calendar of Events
Information for Parents
Teen Cotillion Photo Gallery
Sponsorship Opportunities
Real Life
Trading Places
Alcohol Education
Personal Safety and Self-Defense
Girls’ Programs
Summer Fun
Day Camps
Teen Centers
Free Swims
Places To Go
Community Centers
Arts
Art Classes
Café Groove
Arts Facilities
Arts Opportunities
The Great Outdoors
Education and Outreach Programs
Where to enjoy…
Sports, Health & Wellness
Sports Classes
Healthy Lifestyles
Sports & Aquatic Opportunities
History
Services for Teens with Disabilities
Therapeutic Recreation
School Year Programs
Seasonal Programs
Year-Round Programs
Summer Camps
Inclusion
Party Rental Locations
For Your Future
Jobs
Volunteer/Community Service Opportunities
Planning Your Future
Helpful Resources
Rewards
Login
About Rewards
Rules & Regulations
About XT
What is Xtreme Teens?
Where To Find Us
Total Access: Youth ID Cards
Dates Worth Knowing
Parents
Positive Opportunities
Partners
Youth Partnerships
Give A Kid A Chance
Community
Street Team
Request Xtreme Teens Street Team
Accessibility and Inclusion
M-NCPPC Rules & Regulations
Contact Us
Social Media
Hot Happenings
Calendar of Events
Find a Class or Activity
Signature Events
NFL Punt Pass & Kick
Open Houses
Rock The Boat
Scholar Dollar
Teen Vocal Showcase
Xtreme Teens Night at the County Fair
Programs
Building Block
Building Block Photo Gallery
Fashion Bootcamp
Fashion Bootcamp Photo Gallery
Mis Quince Años
Positive Pathways
Positive Pathways Photo Gallery
Safe Summer
Safe Summer Locations
Safe Summer Photo Gallery
Safe Summer Pledge Contest 2010
Teen Cotillion
Join Teen Cotillion
2010 Teen Cotillion Calendar of Events
Information for Parents
Teen Cotillion Photo Gallery
Sponsorship Opportunities
Real Life
Trading Places
Alcohol Education
Personal Safety and Self-Defense
Girls’ Programs
Summer Fun
Day Camps
Teen Centers
Free Swims
Places To Go
Community Centers
Arts
Art Classes
Café Groove
Arts Facilities
Arts Opportunities
The Great Outdoors
Education and Outreach Programs
Where to enjoy…
Sports, Health & Wellness
Sports Classes
Healthy Lifestyles
Sports & Aquatic Opportunities
History
Services for Teens with Disabilities
Therapeutic Recreation
School Year Programs
Seasonal Programs
Year-Round Programs
Summer Camps
Inclusion
Party Rental Locations
For Your Future
Jobs
Volunteer/Community Service Opportunities
Planning Your Future
Helpful Resources
>
Xtreme Teens
> Safe Summer Blog
Global Youth Service Day
1 Digs
Back to Blog
Previous Article
Next Article
On Sunday, April 17, 2016, Xtreme Teens participated in Global Youth Service Day (www.ysa.org). Nine volunteers joined staff from Special Programs Division/Youth Services staff to learn about plastics pollution and remove trash from the Anacostia River at Bladensburg Waterfront Park. Sustainability Instructor Antonia Bookbinder explained how plastic bottles were once viewed as just “litter”: ugly but harmless, and how scientists’ understanding of plastic has changed in the last decade. Plastic has been found throughout the ocean and most of that plastic comes from rivers and streams. Plastic is eaten by fish and birds when it is mistaken for food. Even worse, plastic can absorb and concentrate many harmful chemicals, which are passed on to animals that eat plastic.
The Anacostia River was one of the first rivers in the United States to be classified as “impaired” (polluted) by trash, and almost 60 percent of the river’s trash is made up of plastic bottles. Volunteers learned how picking up plastic bottles and aluminum cans and recycling them not only helps keep the Anacostia River and the oceans healthy, but also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change.
Volunteers cleaned a 100 foot segment of shoreline near the Anacostia Tributary Trail Bridge and collected 15 garbage bags of trash, including a traffic cone, a pair of jeans, and a green winter squash. Volunteers then helped sort five bags of trash to count the plastic bottles and aluminum cans and estimate how many bottles were collected. The results were startling: volunteers collected about 360 plastic water bottles, 220 plastic bottles that had held soda and other drinks, 7 motor oil bottles, and 17 aluminum cans. Recycling those aluminum cans saved almost 4 kWh of electricity, enough to run a large plasma television for 14 hours
Xtreme Teens for Streams program will be sponsoring more watershed cleanups to help the Anacostia and other local waterways.
Print
Text Size:
Text Size - Medium
Text Size - Large
Text Size - Extra Large