On Saturday, April 23, volunteers up and down Washington’s coast converged on the beach for the annual Earth Day Beach Cleanup lead by the Washington CoastSavers. Nearly 1,200 volunteers in total took part in the event, collecting 25 tons of debris and nearly 200 cubic feet of recycling off our state beaches.
Locally, more than 150 volunteers converged at Twin Harbors State Park and scoured the beach from Grayland to Westhaven to collect more than 2,100 lbs of garbage and 50 cubic feet of recycling.
Ocean Companies, including Ocean Gold, Ocean Cold, Ocean Protein and Ocean Express, hosted the recycling tent where participants could come and deliver their recyclable items which volunteers at the tent then cleaned and sorted into recycling totes provided by LeMay.
Surfriders were also on site with a BBQ feast of hamburgers, veggieburgers, fruit, veggies and other snacks. Many of the volunteers took the opportunity to refuel with the great food and socializing and then returned to the beach for more cleanup.
“This was a very successful cleanup effort,” explained David Lindau, Program Coordinator for Washington CoastSavers. “We had volunteers from all walks of life and all ages participate in the event. And we had just about the most perfect weather for it.”
Other groups involved in the organization of the Earth Day Beach Cleanup included the Washington State Parks, Olympic National Park, and the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
For more information on marine debris, as well as this and future beach cleanups, visit www.coastsavers.org.
