Stewardship Coordinator Kathryn Davis helps a volunteer weigh trash at the International Coastal Cleanup.

World’s Largest Volunteer Beach Cleanup Comes to Puget Sound

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 September 12, 2014

MEDIA CONTACT
Kathryn Davis: (206) 297-7002 or kathryn@pugetsoundkeeper.org

World’s Largest Volunteer Beach Cleanup Comes to Puget Sound

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance joins hundreds of thousands of people around the world for Trash Free Seas this September during the 29th annual International Coastal Cleanup.

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance is organizing beach cleanups this month as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s 29th annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest single day volunteer effort to clean up our beaches, lakes and rivers. Every piece of trash volunteers find will be tracked and included in an annual index of global marine debris to be released in 2015. Last year, nearly 650,000 people picked up more than 12 million pounds of trash along 13,000 miles of coastline.

The main day of cleanups is September 20th, but Soundkeeper is able to support cleanups throughout September as part of the Waterkeeper SPLASH series, presented nationally by Toyota, and thanks to local sponsor Brown Bear Car Wash. Currently we have 24 events scheduled around Puget Sound, and expect over 500 volunteers to participate.

The impact of ICC lives on long after the cleanups are over. The best way to keep plastic and other trash out of the water is to stop it at the source, and the Ocean Conservancy, Soundkeeper and other groups are working daily on this issue. The data collected at ICC events provides information that can inform policy solutions and tell us where to focus our efforts. It also raises local awareness and brings together people and organizations who care about the health of our waterways.

When/Where:    The two largest events are Saturday, September 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Alki Beach and Centennial Park. Additional events are listed on the Soundkeeper events page:  https://pugetsoundkeeper.org/events/

Photos are available here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/127965584@N08/sets/72157647341276450/.

For more information on the national SPLASH series, please visit http://www.splashseries.org.