Fall Beach Sweeps to be held on Oct. 22 Hundreds of volunteers are expected to participate in Clean Ocean Action’s 20th annual Fall Beach Sweeps on “Make a Difference Day,” Saturday, Oct. 22, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The statewide cleanups will take place at nearly 50 sites in Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May Counties. The sweeps educate citizens about nonpoint source pollution, the leading cause of poor water quality in New Jersey. Clean Ocean Action (COA) tracks information about marine debris off the Jersey Shore by collecting data at the cleanups and forwarding the results to The Ocean Conservancy for its international database on marine debris. COA invites people of all ages to engage in the fight against ocean pollution by participating in the next cleanup at ocean, lake, river and bay locations from South Amboy to Cape May. Volunteers are instructed to bring gloves, dress for the weather (event is rain or shine) and wear sunscreen and hard-soled shoes. Only groups of 15 or more must preregister. For a list of sites, visit www.cleanoceanaction.org (follow links for beach sweeps). Or, call (732) 872-0111.