Volunteers Needed for 26th Annual Coastal Cleanup in Broward County

Local Efforts are Part of International Program for Cleaner Oceans

DATE: August 9, 2011
CONTACT: Pat Quinn
Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management
PHONE: 954-519-1218
EMAIL: pquinn@broward.org

Volunteers are needed from throughout Broward County to participate in the 26th Annual International Coastal Cleanup, sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy and coordinated by Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management, to be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 17.

Participants can sign up on event day at any of the 12 cleanup locations throughout Broward County: Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Oakland Park, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, John U. Lloyd State Park, Dania Beach, Hollywood Beach North, Hollywood Beach Central, Hollywood Beach South and Hallandale Beach. Volunteers should bring a hat, sunscreen, gloves and water.

Last year, Broward County's nearly 1,700 volunteers collected more than 4,500 pounds of trash from the 12 cleanup sites. Items collected ranged from baby toys to biohazardous waste. An estimated 82,000 pieces of trash were picked up with the number one trash item being cigarette butts. More than 34,000 butts were cleaned from the beaches. One site combined all the butts collected by the volunteers filling a bag that weighed 10 pounds.

The International Coastal Cleanup, now in its 26th year, has attracted nearly 9 million volunteers from 152 countries and locations and volunteers have collected 145 million pounds of trash from the shores of lakes, streams, rivers and oceans on just one day each year.

For additional Coastal Cleanup information and site map, interested individuals should visit www.broward.org/NaturalResources and click BEACH AND MARINE, or call 954-519-1270.