Here are a few tips for keeping the Bay clean:

Dispose of cigarette butts properly.  Cigarette butts are the #1 litter item found at Clean the Bay Day, typically represent over 25% of all litter collected, and can take as many as 25 years to decompose.

Stop using plastic shopping bags.  Bring your own reusable totes.  Over 100,000 birds and marine life die each year due to plastic bags and other plastic litter.  Littered plastic bags can get tangled in cotton crops, making cotton difficult or impossible to dye.

Recycle glass, aluminum, paper, plastic, and more.  Cans made of aluminum can sit on the Chesapeake Bay shoreline taking centuries to decompose, or they can be recycled and be back on the shelf in about 90 days.

Get a soil test.  Reduce or eliminate use of lawn fertilizer, especially in the spring.  It can run off into waterways and hurt struggling blue crabs just before their spawning season.  Spread the word to your neighbors.

Eliminate harsh cleaning chemicals and substitute with Bay-friendly cleansers like white vinegar, baking soda, and borax.  Wash your car on your lawn to absorb and filter storm water runoff.

Scoop the poop.  Pet waste is a major cause of contaminated streams, especially in urban and suburban areas.

Boaters, use a pump-out station and make sure that trash doesn't fall into the water.

If you live on the water, or know someone who does, grow native oysters for local sanctuary reefs.  Help restore the population of these great water filterers. Contact cbf.org/oysters.

Keep informed, stay involved, and make your green voice heard with lawmakers!  Join CBF's free Action Network today.  Receive action alerts on important issues that make it easy for you to influence your legislators with a click of your computer mouse.  to join or learn more contact chesapeake@cbf.org.

Learn more at cbf.org