FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Seattle, Washington Sep 14, 2012
MEDIA CONTACT
Chris Wilke, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, 206-297-7002, chris@pugetsoundkeeper.org
Signature Event: Saturday, September 15th, Centennial/Myrtle Edwards Park, Downtown Seattle, WA. – – 120 Volunteers expected.
Excellent media photo opportunity as volunteers clean Seattle’s Waterfront!
What: Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (Soundkeeper) will lead a cleanup effort at Centennial Park/Myrtle Edwards Park and five other sites as part of the 27th annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), the world’s largest volunteer effort to help protect our oceans, lakes and rivers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world spend a few hours removing debris from waterways and record every piece of trash they find. The Ocean Conservancy uses that information to produce an annual snapshot of the problem of marine debris. In 2011, nearly 600,000 volunteers collected 9,184,427 pounds of trash along 20,775 miles of coastline. This included 55 million cigarette butts and enough discarded cups, plates, and cutlery to host a picnic for 2.15 million people!
When/Where: Saturday, September 15th 9:00am
Meeting location: Centennial Park near the public fishing pier. Event kicks off with remarks from organizers at 9:00 a.m. Cleanup will go until 12:00 p.m. Volunteer photo opportunities available throughout the event. Additional public event at Alki Beach sponsored by Jack-FM and Alaskan Brewing Co. – call for details
Why: “There are many problems facing Puget Sound and our oceans in general, but litter and marine debris should be one of the easiest to solve,” says Chris Wilke, Executive Director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. “Ultimately, we need to stop litter and especially plastic from entering our waters, but we can start by cleaning up what we can and sharing the results of what we find.”
Thanks to local sponsorship and support from Brown Bear Car Wash, Patagonia, Lucky 7 Foundation and The Boeing Company, Soundkeeper is expanding Washington’s ICC projects in 2012! With six project sites over a two-week period, Soundkeeper volunteers will pick up and document trash and marine debris according to the ICC protocols. How much trash and debris will we get? What will be the most common item, the largest, or the grossest? Stay tuned for the 2012 results!
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance protects and preserves Puget Sound by monitoring, cleaning up and preventing pollutants from entering its waters. Through on-water monitoring, Clean Water Act enforcement, active engagement, government involvement and business partnerships, we protect the beauty and richness of Puget Sound now and for the future. www.pugetsoundkeeper.org
Ocean Conservancy is the world’s foremost advocate for the oceans. Through science-based advocacy, research, and public education, we inform, inspire and empower people to speak and act for the oceans. Ocean Conservancy is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has offices in Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pacific, with support from more than half a million members and volunteers. www.oceanconservancy.org
###
Comments are closed.
[…] Conservancy uses that information to produce an annual snapshot of the problem of marine debris. [30] The protocol for the NMDMP calls for 180 marine debris monitoring sites to be set up along the […]