Continued from Page 11
tons of waste each year, many participating
in events like the annual Washington Coast
Cleanup.
Held each April as Earth Day
approaches, the event is a signature project
of the Washington Clean Coast Alliance, a
dedicated group of volunteers, civic orga-
nizations and nonprofi ts working alongside
tribal, state and federal agencies.
The alliance, now in its 15th year,
launched the CoastSavers program to coor-
dinate existing cleanup eff orts by regional
organizations, some stewarding the coast
for more than 50 years. “Some of the mem-
bers like the (Pacifi c Northwest) Four
Wheel Drive Association and Grass-
Roots Garbage Gang have been clean-
ing up the Long Beach Peninsula since the
1970s,” CoastSavers coordinator Megan
Juran said . The alliance also draws on the
work of hiker Jan Klippert, who organized
the Olympic Coast Cleanup in the 1990s.
“CoastSavers brought that all together
under an umbrella to organize cleanups on
specifi c dates to amplify the eff ort,” Juran
added.
The Washington Coast Cleanup is a
series of events that take place over the
course of one day from Cape Disappoint-
ment State Park to Cape Flattery and along
the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Juran is hope-
SUNDAY
Volunteers carry trash bags along the Washington coast to clean up marine debris.
ful that this year’s coastal cleanup events
will draw both new and returning volun-
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teers. “Typically by April, winter storms
have gone through and it’s nice to have
that change of weather coincide with Earth
Day because then we get that fresh spring
cleanup going,” Juran said.
Recent volunteers have primarily
found plastic waste. “We’ve seen a change
throughout the years as far as what people
are picking up,” Juran said. She noted that
the presence of plastic has grown in recent
years.
Now, funded by a National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris
g rant, the alliance plans to pilot a circu-
lar disposal program for plastics. Partner-
ing with Net Your Problem, a business
that provides recycling services for fi shing
industry items like plastic buoys, netting
and rope, the alliance will begin a two year
recycling eff ort at scheduled cleanups. “We
are excited to partner with Net Your Prob-
lem to expand their eff orts and increase the
amount and types of plastics we can divert
from the landfi ll into its next life,” Juran
said.
Community volunteers, called coast sav-
ers, are invited to steward a beloved beach
by picking up trash from the shore on April
23. Volunteers can also help to run check-in
tables and transport collected waste to
dumping sites. “There will be sign in coor-
dinators stationed at 9 a.m. along each of
the major beach approaches that lead out
onto the open beach,” volunteer and Grass-
Roots Garbage Gang leader Russ Lewis
COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEERS, CALLED
COAST SAVERS, ARE
INVITED TO STEWARD
A BELOVED BEACH BY
PICKING UP TRASH FROM
THE SHORE ON APRIL 23.
VOLUNTEERS CAN ALSO
HELP TO RUN CHECK-IN
TABLES AND TRANSPORT
COLLECTED WASTE TO
DUMPING SITES.
said. Lewis organizes cleanup events on
the Long Beach Peninsula, where shoreline
trash often collects as the weather warms
up.
For those heading to remote stretches,
spaces are available at Kalaloch camp-
ground on a limited, fi rst come, fi rst serve
basis for registered volunteers on April 22
and 23. Aside from organized events, the
alliance urges community members to clean
up neighborhoods and shores whenever
possible. “There are a lot of unsung heroes
who do beach cleanups, not just people who
come out during these events, but people
who are out every day,” Juran said. “We do
encourage people to clean up trash anytime,
anywhere. No matter where you live, trash
can make it out to the ocean,” she added.