Registration open for International Coastal Cleanup next weekend

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

September 9, 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 open for the 2017 International Coastal Cleanup to be held next Saturday 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 for 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,” 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.

For the South Beach, the cleanup will be staged at the 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 include representatives from 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 from the beaches during the Washington Coast Cleanup, which occurs on Earth Day weekend in April; and the International Coastal Cleanup, which is staged on the third Saturday of 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.”

Four state parks are participating in the International Coastal Cleanup, with garbage bags provided to volunteers at each site:

• Cape Disappointment State Park, 1 to 4 p.m. Registration begins at 1 at the park office, the Seaview approach and the Bolstad approach.

• Ocean City State Park, 1 to 4 p.m. Registration will begin at 12:30 at two locations: the Chance a la Mer approach and the Ocean City approach.

• Pacific Beach State Park, 1 to 4 p.m. Registration will begin at 12:30.

• Twin Harbors State Park, 12:30 to 4 p.m. Registration will begin at noon at Twin Harbors-Schafer Road.

“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 is a global effort organized by the Ocean Conservancy with coordinators in approximately 100 countries and 36 states. Washington CoastSavers serves as the local coordinator in Washington. Trash found at ICC events will be recorded 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 nights. Backcountry camping is comped Friday and Saturday nights 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, including the Schafer Beach Approach in Westport. For details, visit washington.surfrider.org.