ICC

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to support Ocean Conservancy's efforts to bring people together around the globe for this annual cleanup event.

Every year, this international effort encourages hundreds of thousands of volunteers to act locally and clean up debris in their communities. Wherever you are, whoever you’re with, you can contribute to this global event and Sea The Change—even if you’re cleaning up your local neighborhood or park! Your local cleanup efforts will contribute to something bigger as people around the world remove trash, collect data, and make their mark on the problem.

September kicks off coastal cleanup season and that means it’s time for the 36th annual International Coastal Cleanup! Every year, the Ocean Conservancy brings people together from around the blue globe for this international effort to act locally and clean up marine debris in their communities. The NOAA Marine Debris Program is proud to have partnered with the Ocean Conservancy and supported the International Coastal Cleanup for 15 years to combat marine debris. On September 18, we look forward to reconnecting with nature and with one another in small groups or pods to collect debris and data.

Cigarette butts are the most common type of debris found during cleanups. Consistently, for over 25 years, cigarettes butts have been the top item collected during the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). In 2017 alone, more than 2.4 million cigarette butts were found at cleanup sites during the ICC. Although the amount of cigarettes consumed in the US is steadily falling, the amount of cigarette butts found in our ocean and Great Lakes is not. Why do these butts persist in our waters? And why are they such a problem, aren’t they made of natural materials?

It’s almost that time of year—time for the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)! This annual event, put on by the Ocean Conservancy and supported by the NOAA Marine Debris Program, works to bring people together from across the globe to clean up marine debris in their local communities. Last year’s cleanup resulted in more than 18 million pounds of trash collected by over 504,000 volunteers covering almost 15,000 miles! Find a cleanup near you and sign up to clean up today! The 2017 International Coastal Cleanup is Saturday, September 16^th—we’ll see you there!