INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP 2010
“Think Global – Act Local”
Hit the beaches! Saturday, September 18th is COASTAL CLEANUP DAY. From 9am to 12 noon volunteers of all ages are needed to help in this international grassroots effort to rid our coastlines of litter, pollution and debris. Several sites throughout Lee County have been set up for collection and documentation of beach litter.
The annual cleanup, which is coordinated locally by Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc. (KLCB), is organized internationally by the The Ocean Conservancy and is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Grocery bags...bottles...cigarette butts...wrappers and straws. They don’t fall from the sky; they fall from human hands. And what's washed up on the shore is only a fraction of what is in the water. The goals of the project are to remove and record unsightly and environmentally harmful debris from Florida’s coastline and waterways, and raise public awareness about this preventable littler problem
Volunteers are asked to report to one of the listed sites at 9:00 am on Saturday, September 18, 2010. They will be asked to record the amounts and types of debris they collect, using provided data cards. This data is part of the vital research needed to ultimately prevent illegal and improper disposal of solid waste. Last year, 1,100 volunteers cleared thousands of pounds of trash from Lee County waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.
Soft drinks donated by Coca-Cola and water will be provided for volunteers at all cleanup sites. Disposal of the collected debris is being donated by Veolia Environmental Services and Waste Pro. They will haul and donate the disposal costs of collected trash. Other sponsors include Bailey’s General Store, Best Buy at Coconut Point Mall, Buffalo Chips, City of Bonita Springs, Doc’s Beach House, Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation, Friends of Charlotte Harbor Aquatics Program, Lee County DEP, Lee County Dept. of Solid Waste, Lee County Parks & Rec., Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau, Nelson Marine, Royal Scoop Ice Cream, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Schnapper’s Hots, Southseas Island Resort, Timberland Factory Store, and the Town of Fort Myers Beach.
Site coordinators are available at each site and can authorize service-learning (volunteer) hours for students and to help assist volunteers.