Keep PA Beautiful: International Coastal Cleanup Begins Sept. 1, Still Time To Participate

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful invites Pennsylvania residents to coordinate a cleanup as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s 2015 International Coastal Cleanup held from September 1 through October 31.

The International Coastal Cleanup is the largest volunteer effort aimed at improving the health of the ocean, bringing out hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world to remove millions of pounds of plastics and debris from beaches, lakes and waterways.  This event has grown to include participation by all 50 states and U.S. territories and 90 countries with the number growing each year.

Keep PA Beautiful coordinates this effort in Pennsylvania.

“In 2014, 12,809 volunteers from 50 counties canvassed their communities to remove 646,210 pounds of trash and debris from Pennsylvania’s waterways and coastal regions during the International Coastal Cleanup event,” said Shannon Reiter, President of Keep PA Beautiful. “Our goal is to have participation from all 67 counties for this global effort.”

Any cleanup site is eligible since we all live in a watershed and all waterways flow into our coastal waters. International Coastal Cleanup Day will be held on September 19, however, ICC events can be held from September 1 through October 31.  

Gloves and bags are available for registered events while supplies last.

If you are interested in coordinating an ICC cleanup or volunteering at a cleanup, please contact Michelle Dunn at 1-877-772-3673 Ext. 113 or send email to: mdunn@keeppabeautiful.org.

For more information, visit KPB's 2015 International Coastal Cleanup webpage.