Join Keep Martin Beautiful in the Effort for Trash-Free Seas

Join Keep Martin Beautiful in the Effort for Trash-Free Seas

Tennis balls, toothbrushes, corks of all sizes, pizza boxes, fishing lines and a surfboard fin. These are just some of the items, plus the usual assortment of glass, metal and brightly colored plastic litter, that hundreds of volunteers found along Martin County’s beaches and waterways during last fall’s International Coastal Cleanup.

In all, volunteers cleaned 30 miles of beaches and waterways, filled 423 trash bags, and collected nearly 2,000 pounds of litter and marine debris.

There’s always more to do! Keep Martin Beautiful is now preparing for the 2025 International Coastal Cleanup. This is a global effort led by the Ocean Conservancy in an unending mission for trash-free seas. From every part of the globe, including Martin County, people will take to the beaches and waterways on September 20 from 8am to 11am to remove trash before it harms our marine life, wildlife and the humans who depend on healthy waters.

Volunteers keep careful track of what they pick up through the easy-to-use CleanSwell© mobile app, or traditional paper data cards. Logging the litter provides important insights year to year and helps policy makers see trends and work toward solutions.

Recent data confirms that the biggest nationwide problem continues to be plastic foam including plastic foam cups, plates, and takeout containers. It’s one of the worst types of plastics. Think of what happens when you pick up plastic foam. Big pieces break into smaller pieces. They eventually become microplastics - tiny plastic fragments that are now ubiquitous in the environment. They’re in our food, water, and incredibly prevalent in marine life across all levels of the food chain, from the smallest plankton to large marine mammals. Microplastics are even found within human organs and can cause inflammation, cellular damage, and impacts on various bodily systems.

How can you help clean our waterways and protect our piece of paradise?

While addressing microplastics is a larger global issue, here is a simple, tangible way to care for our own watery backyard:

Volunteer with KMB on International Coastal Cleanup Day, September 20. Recruit family, friends, civic and school groups and your own place of business to join you. Keep Martin Beautiful will provide cleanup supplies and T-shirts (while supplies last) and keep track of the type and amount of trash that volunteers collect. Preregistration is required so we can ensure that volunteers are assigned to areas most in need.

Support Our Efforts. The International Coastal Cleanup also offers a great opportunity for businesses and organizations to show their support for environmental stewardship in Martin County through sponsorship. Sponsors receive significant exposure through our social media platforms, digital marketing and promotion of the event, as well as logo placement on volunteer T-shirts. For more info on how to be a part of this “think global, act local” event, go to keepmartinbeautiful.org/international-coastal-cleanup

Tiffany Kincaid's opinions are her own and may not reflect Friends & Neighbors viewpoint.