OCEAN COUNTY POPULATION GROWTH

Recycling just one aluminum • can saves enough energy to operate a TV for three hours. If every U.S. household • replaced just one roll of 1,000-sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100 percent recycled ones, it could save 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water!

The graph above illustrates how population growth in Ocean County has sky-rocketed in the past few decades. Consequently, 30% of the Barnegat Bay Watershed has been developed. And the population continues to grow.

Coastal and aquatic studies show that this 30% threshold is a critical juncture in watershed health. Beyond it we lose biodiversity and the ecosystem is stressed. Our quality of life is also in jeopardy. We must act if we are to save our Bay.

Recycling creates six times as • many jobs as landfilling.

Recycling a ton of paper • saves 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for six months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution.

Conserve water and reduce waste. Many things we do are wasteful and negatively impact our waters.You can make a difference if you follow the Bay-Friendly practices outlined in this book.

We know that changing behavior is difficult.The key is to start slowly, one step at a time. Try these three easy steps to get started:

Chose one

1. Bay-Friendly action in your home or yard.

2. Bay-Friendly action on the water or in your community.

3.

Chose one

When these become routine, choose a few more.