The week of International Coastal Cleanup Day (9/18/21), over 70 volunteers came out to help us clean three East End beaches!
The first was arranged with our partners at The Surf Lodge. Owner Jayma Cardoso came out and brought a huge crew to help us clean up South Edison Street Beach in Montauk. While the beach looked clean at first, volunteers quickly realized that there was more than meets the eye and found lots of cigarette butts and small plastic pieces hiding in the sand.
The second cleanup was completed with our partners at Friends of Georgica Pond. Volunteers met at Georgica Beach in East Hampton and walked to the pond for cleanup. This was a major haul of mucky debris that appeared to have washed in with stormwater runoff. A group of volunteers stayed to sort out and record the debris together and found that the most common item was small plastic pieces.
Our third cleanup of the week was sponsored by Stasher. This time, volunteers came out to Tiana Beach in Hampton Bays. Luckily, the beach was mostly clean but there's always debris to pick up, and every little bit counts! Volunteers left with a giveaway silicone sandwich bag so they can reduce their plastic use at home. Thank you Stasher!
In total, our amazing volunteers removed 262 pounds of debris from our local beaches! Thank you to everyone who helped collect trash and record data so we can continue our fight against beach pollution. If you'd like to join us for our next cleanup, check out our chapter calendar!
