CLEAN THE BAY to Extend Debris Collection in RI and MA 


CLEAN THE BAY to Extend Debris Collection in RI and MA 


CLEAN THE BAY, the Rhode Island-based organization dedicated to ensuring the waterways and shores of the region are free of larger debris, has announced renewed funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facilitated through the office of Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed.  

The $120,000 grant will allow debris collection to be extended from Rhode Island and Narragansett Bay and into Mt. Hope Bay and the Taunton River in the Fall River, MA area as well as hiring an Executive Director and developing an ongoing funding plan.

More than a thousand tons of debris

To date, more than 1,320 tons of debris have been removed from Rhode Island shores and CLEAN THE BAY now tracks and monitor sources, tonnage, and the GPS location of debris, which will be able to be viewed by the public in the New Year.  

According to Robert Batting, President of the CLEAN THE BAY Board of Directors, “Municipalities don’t have the resources to address the problems associated with large debris along the shoreline and the threat it presents to navigation and our natural resources," he said. "Because of CLEAN THE BAY, ridding our coastline of debris has become a priority to local, state and federal agencies and officials.”

According to Batting, “Our efforts are already a model for other New England states and Long Island and, we feel, will be a national model for this important environmental effort.”