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September 15 is International Coastal Cleanup Day.
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Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup marks the beginning of a year-round effort to keep trash out of oceans and waterways.
On September 15th, 2007, volunteers will participate in the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. These volunteers donate their time to work toward a global vision of a cleaner, healthier ocean and waterways. This year it is anticipated that 500,000 volunteers will turn out to collect debris and document what they find along shorelines, and underwater, in 100 countries.
Site coordinators will collect thousands of data cards and send them to the Ocean Conservancy for analysis, giving them a comprehensive snapshot of the global marine debris problem. Ocean Conservancy distributes this information annually to government officials, advocates and journalists explaining the hazards of marine debris and how important it is for every person to take responsibility for protecting shorelines and waterways all year long.
In 1986, the beginnings of what is now known as the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, was in its formative years. Two women shared the same interest in clean¬ing debris from the shore to make it a cleaner, healthier place for people and wildlife. During this period, data was collected on the debris that was found, making Ocean Conservancy an early leader in collecting and analyzing marine debris information.
Over time, a movement to remove debris from beaches and waterways grew. In 1989, Mexico and Canada joined the efforts and in 1990, Japan joined, making Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup an international event. Over the past 21 years, a total of 6,600,000 million volunteers have picked up almost 116,000,000 pounds of debris across 211,460 miles of coastline.
There are thousands of cleanup sites across the United States and around the world at which you can participate. Visit the Ocean Conservancy for more information.