Registration open for International Coastal Cleanup Sept. 16

State parks, Olympic National Park, CoastSavers, SurfRider, local groups part of coordinated effort

September 6, 2017 1:30 am
Lourdes Collins photo The Collins and Sterling families from Olympia help to clean the beach south of Point Grenville last April for the Washington Coast Cleanup. Pictured are Steve Collins, Rob and Christy Sterling, Tristan Sterling (12) and Tyson Sterling (9).
Lourdes Collins photo The Collins and Sterling families from Olympia help to clean the beach south of Point Grenville last April for the Washington Coast Cleanup. Pictured are Steve Collins, Rob and Christy Sterling, Tristan Sterling (12) and Tyson Sterling (9).

Registration is now open for the 2017 International Coastal Cleanup to be held on Saturday Sept. 16 at dozens of beaches along the outer coast, the Olympic Peninsula and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

To help event organizers prepare, volunteers who want to help in the annual cleanup are asked to visit www.coastsavers.org where participants will find information about how to register, when to check-in, what beaches will be cleaned and where to camp.

“This is an opportunity to take part in a global effort to get trash off of our treasured beaches including many county parks, state parks and the Olympic National Park. Be part of the solution to the pollution, that is marine debris,” said Jon Schmidt, Washington CoastSavers coordinator.

This year the Strait beaches will be cleaned in the morning and the outer coastal beaches will be cleaned in the afternoon due to the tides.

For North Beach, cleanups will be located at the Taurus and Chance a la Mer beach approaches in Ocean Shores, at the Ocean City beach approach, at Griffiths-Priday State Park, at Seabrook and at Moclips/Pacific Beach. In the South Beach area, the cleanup will be staged at Twin Harbors beach, with multiple locations along the Long Beach peninsula as well.

Washington CoastSavers is an alliance of partners and volunteers dedicated to keeping the state’s beaches clean of marine debris. Founding members of CoastSavers include representatives from the Lions Club International, Discover Your Northwest, Surfrider Foundation, Grass Roots Garbage Gang, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, and the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. Since 2007, their efforts have removed tons of trash off the beaches during the Washington Coast Cleanup, which occurs in April every Earth Day weekend and the International Coastal Cleanup, every third Saturday in September.

“Washington State Parks is pleased to be a part of this important—and effective—cleanup event,” said Don Hoch, State Parks director. “Washington’s ocean beaches benefit from the many different organizations and volunteers working together to make our beaches safe and clean for all to enjoy.”

The following state parks are participating in the International Coastal Cleanup:

• Cape Disappointment State Park

• Ocean City State Park

• Pacific Beach State Park

• Twin Harbors State Park

Garbage bags will be provided at each site. For specific meeting times and other details about each of the park cleanups, visit the State Parks calendar page at: http://parks.state.wa.us/calendar.aspx?view=list&year=2017&month=9&day=16

“The positive impact of this cleanup event is immediately visible and impressive,” said Olympic National Park Acting Superintendent Lee Taylor. “Olympic National Park is proud to support the work of CoastSavers volunteers.”

The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is a global cleanup effort organized by the Ocean Conservancy with coordinators in approximately 100 countries and 36 states. Washington CoastSavers serve as local cleanup coordinators in Washington State. Trash found at ICC events will be counted and included in an annual index of global marine debris.

Last year, volunteers collected over 18 million pounds of trash from shorelines around the world.

The data gathered at ICC events provides information that can inform policy solutions and identify target areas where preventative solutions will make the biggest difference. ICC events also raise awareness of the pervasive marine debris issue and bring together people and organizations who care about the health of our waterways.

Volunteers will be able to recycle the hard plastics they collect in some locations. Plastics found on the beach are often too degraded to recycle normally, but CoastSavers has partnered with TerraCycle to turn some of the material collected into shampoo bottles. This unique program will reduce the amount of debris that goes from the beach to the landfill.

Other material is recycled when possible but “this partnership really steps up our recycling game,” Schmidt said.

Camping for registered volunteers is available in Olympic National Park at Kalaloch, Mora and Ozette campgrounds on Friday and Saturday night. Backcountry camping is comped Friday and Saturday night at park beaches. Free camping is also available at Hobuck Campground for those cleaning the beaches near Neah Bay.

Surfrider Foundation chapters are providing food and refreshments at multiple locations, see website for details, including Schafer Beach Approach in Westport.