More than 40 volunteers descended on Pryibil Beach on Sept. 19, collecting 171 pounds of litter — including hundreds of cigarette butts and plastic bottle caps — during Glen Cove’s annual International Coastal Cleanup.
The cleanup, organized by the City of Glen Cove Beautification Commission, brought together community volunteers and members of Scuba Network to clear debris from the beach. Although rough weather prevented the volunteer divers from entering the water, they joined the effort on land.
“It was wonderful to see so many volunteers come out to help at our International Coastal Cleanup at Pryibil Beach,” Lora Cusumano, chair of the Beautification Commission, said. “Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate for diving that morning, but we were so grateful that the volunteer divers from Scuba Network stayed and worked alongside us picking up litter on the beach.”
The divers are expected to return Oct. 4 to clean beneath the pier.
This year’s haul was lighter than in 2025, when volunteers collected 192 pounds of litter, but several individual types of waste increased. Volunteers recovered 610 cigarette butts, up from 539 last year, and 319 plastic bottle caps, compared with 116 in 2025. The number of straws and stirrers also increased from 63 to 172. Metal bottle caps declined from 112 to 89.
The cleanup provided an early test for the city’s new Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Recycling Program, with volunteers separating cigarette butts from other debris.
Cusumano said the number collected was particularly concerning because Glen Cove’s parks and beaches are smoke-free.
“Cigarette filters do not simply disappear or safely break down — they become litter that can make its way into our waterways and harm the environment,” she said.
Under the new program, collected cigarette waste will be sent to TerraCycle to be processed and recycled. New cigarette recycling receptacles are also expected to appear at locations throughout Glen Cove.
Beautification Commissioner Cheryl Carmody said removing the waste is important for protecting wildlife that can become entangled in garbage or mistake discarded plastic and cigarette butts for food.
“It’s a great opportunity for the community to come out and clean up an area that they love to visit and spend time at,” Carmody said.
She was particularly surprised by the amount of debris volunteers discovered near the playgrounds and on the opposite side of the pier.
For Beautification Commission Vice Chair Robert Labaw, who has been involved with beautification efforts for more than 30 years, the annual cleanup is part of a decades-long effort. He said the commission began participating in coastal cleanups in the early 1990s.
In earlier years, volunteers sometimes encountered medical waste and other debris along the shoreline, Labaw said. Conditions have gradually improved.
“We find less and less and less, and I think that’s all part of just the general public being a little better educated and more concerned about our environment,” he said.
About 22 community volunteers participated this year in addition to the diving group, bringing attendance to more than 40 people.
“When we do a cleanup event like this, you feel really good that you’ve made your city a little cleaner, a little better place to live,” Labaw said. “It doesn’t last forever like that. Debris happens, but it just looks better.”
