MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The latest data estimates that there are between 75 and 199 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean right now, with 11 million metric tons of new plastic entering every year.
And while the global fight to change policy and regulate plastics in ongoing, cleanup efforts are critical to help stem the flow of marine debris polluting our oceans and waterways.
Next Saturday is your chance to help join the fight.
An eco-army of volunteers is gearing up for the 40th annual International Coastal Clean-Up Day, happening on Sept. 20.
“All around the world, you have millions of volunteers who are all contributing to this,” said Volunteer Clean-Up co-founder and president Dave Doebler. “This absolutely makes a difference.”
Launched in 1986 by the Ocean Conservancy to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways, the movement has supersized over the past four decades with more than 18 million volunteers removing more 380 million pounds of junk from our natural spaces.
“We are building a grassroots community that’s rising up and saying this is unacceptable,” said Doebler.
Doebler and Dara Schoenwald from Volunteer Clean-up are spearheading the efforts in South Florida with more than 65 cleanups happening from Oleta River down to Homestead, with space for some 4,000 volunteers.
“We are having a direct impact on the environment today, but we’re also raising awareness about the problem and then providing people with some ideas on how they might be part of the solution,” said Doebler.
Not just that, but it’s also fun!
The organization boasts cleanups make for a great date.
“You get out there in the fresh air, you’re by the ocean,” said Schoenwald. “For anyone who always says on their dating profile, I like to take long walks on the on the beach. We’ll take a long walk and pick up some trash.”
And here’s the great thing, even if you can’t be there on Sept. 20 to help pick up all that trash, you can still be a part of this global movement by supporting the organizations and the volunteers who are out there every week to clean up our shared backyard.
“The other exciting thing that we’re doing this year is the trash-a-thon,” said Schownwald. “An innovative twist on the classic a thon fundraiser, turning trash into cash.”
The first one took place back in April during a clean-up on Old Rhodes Key in Biscayne National Park.
Donors were asked to pledge an amount for every pound of trash collected to help fund more cleanups, especially with budgets being slashed at all national parks.
“Central to this mission is to help raise money for some of the deficits that are happening in those cuts,” said Manny Rionda with Fill-A-Bag.
Back then, the Brady Hunter Foundation stepped up, pledging two dollars a pound, but you can pledge as little as 10 cents or even a penny per pound, and chose the clean-up you want to donate to.
“We have about 15 individual cleanup sites that are participating in the trash-a-thon,” said Schoenwald. “They may collect more like 300 pounds. So you can then safely pledge 10 cents, 25 cents per pound, or even a dollar a pound, depending on what your budget is.”
The point is, whether you come out and put in the sweat equity or click and donate, there’s something we can all do to show love and reverence to our most precious backyard.
“It makes a big difference in terms of mindset,” said Schoenwald. “So when you spend an hour or two on the beach picking up trash, something clicks in your brain and you start thinking about usage in a different way, the way you use and consume trash, where you put the trash, you think about how you can influence others so that I think is the biggest impact.”
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- https://volunteercleanup.org/miami-coastal-cleanup-day/
- www.Trashathon.org
- https://www.broward.org/NaturalResources/BeachAndMarine/Pages/CoastalCleanup.aspxand
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