MAR’s 2025 International COastal Clean-Up
On Saturday, September 20th, we participated in our second International Coastal Cleanup event and partnered with Coastal Cruises to take a group of volunteers out to Shell Key for the cleanup. This cleanup connected our community with nature and created a lasting environmental impact.
Joining A Global Effort
The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is an annual event led by the Ocean Conservancy that engages global communities in efforts to remove trash from shorelines. 2025 marks the 40th year of the ICC and almost 20 million volunteers have participated in this event since its inception. In addition to the physical cleanup efforts, volunteers collect data on the amount and types of trash they collect. The Ocean Conservancy will use this data to advocate for policies that better protect marine life from pollution. To date, over 380 million pounds of trash have been removed from coastlines worldwide.
Beach CLean-Up
For our cleanup, we took a short boat ride to Shell Key, and volunteers spread out across roughly 2.25 miles to clean up the shoreline. Upon arrival, the island did not have a visibly large amount of trash, but after a closer look, most of the trash we found was less than 2.5 centimeters in size. Existing plastic debris in the ocean will begin to break down into smaller pieces over time, becoming microplastics. Since the plastic pieces are not biodegradable, they will continue incorporating themselves into the food web and ecosystem. Although these pieces are small and do not look like much, we are making a huge difference by removing them from the environment.
In total, we collected 743 individual pieces of trash that weighed a total of 71.90 pounds! Our top three categories of trash were:
Plastic/foam pieces less than 2.5 cm: 176 items
General plastic waste debris: 144 items
Plastic bottle caps: 65 items
In addition to collecting trash, some volunteers collected a few seashells! We saw a variety of shells on the beach with notable finds of common jingle shells, Florida fighting conchs, and lightning whelks. Some beachgoers started a “shell tree” where they hang shells on the branches of trees and driftwood. A few of our volunteers contributed to a tree that we found on the beach!
Thanks to Boxed Water and Salud, our volunteers were able to stay hydrated and fueled throughout the cleanup. After collecting and recording data from the cleanup, we wanted to treat our volunteers to a refreshing treat. We shared kettle corn from Salty Sisters Gourmet Popcorn along with cold pressed juices from Pure Green with the volunteers on the boat ride back to the marina. Thank you to our sponsors for their support of our cleanup and for their commitment to protecting our local ecosystems!
Worldwide Impact
When our efforts are combined with those from around the world, the results are inspiring! At last year’s cleanup, 486,706 volunteers cleaned up 17,820,206 pieces of trash, totalling 7,467,721 pounds of trash removed from shorelines worldwide. In 2024, roughly 22.8% of the trash found was plastic or foam pieces less than 2.5 centimeters in size.
This year, our cleanup data shows that 23.7% of our trash was plastic or foam pieces less than 2.5 centimeters in size. Once the data for the rest of the world is published, it will be interesting to see if there is a general trend of an increase in smaller pieces of trash. The more trash we can remove or prevent from ending up in waterways, the healthier our oceans will be in the long-term.
Thank you!
It was a beautiful day on the water and we could not have done it without the support from our volunteers, sponsors, and community! Thank you for your presence, energy, and commitment in making a positive impact on one of our community’s most beautiful islands.
We are especially grateful to an anonymous donor who has graciously sponsored two more boat trips. These trips will allow us to connect more people, specifically children, with the ocean through hands-on and immersive activities. Participants will have the opportunity to experience the ocean in a way that will inspire curiosity, learning, and a lasting appreciation of our coastal areas.
We can’t wait to see you at our upcoming BLUE events - stay tuned for more information through our website and social media pages!
References:
International Coastal Cleanup®. Ocean Conservancy. (2025, April 30). https://oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/
Plastic Pollution. Monterey Bay Aquarium. (n.d.). https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/act-for-the-ocean/plastic-pollution/the-challenge
