The International Coastal Cleanup is an annual event organized by the Ocean Conservancy. The goal of this cleanup is to bring together volunteers from around the world with local volunteers to remove trash from our beaches. International volunteers help teach local people how to consistently clean their beach while also informing them about the kind of trash commonly found in their seas.
To document how much trash is found on the beach, locals were given a sheet of paper to tally the amount of trash that was found. The most popular categories at our beach are cigarettes, plastic bottles, and microplastics. Now, when locals go to the beach, they are likely to notice these items.
The local beach clean-up is paired with a larger organization, the Ocean Conservancy, which partners with many areas to host clean-ups. They also focus on supporting biodiversity in coral reefs, combating plastic pollution around the globe, and promoting donations that fund research and materials needed to clean different beaches.
At this global event, gloves and bags were provided to volunteers along with free parking. Community service hours were also granted to any student. Snacks were provided to guests by the organization, but all trash and wrappers had to be thrown away properly! From 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., people gathered on the beach to remove trash from the sand and sea. The town of Lantana greatly appreciated anyone looking to help out. As a resident, I even attended the event myself.
