ICC

Thank you to all the volunteers that showed up and cleaned up at this year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) on Saturday! This year’s event was another success due to the many volunteers that helped collect (literally) tons of trash! This yearly event not only removes damaging marine debris from communities around the globe, but also raises awareness of the important issue of marine debris. The data collected at each event is also used to discover what trash items are most problematic and most likely to become marine debris. Check out some of the photos from this year’s ICC events around the country.

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!

A plastic bag may look flimsy, but in a fight against a sea turtle, it often wins. Unfortunately, the marine debris that we find floating in our oceans and waterways all too often impacts marine life.

There are many ways that marine debris can impact marine animals. For instance, the accidental ingestion of debris is a big problem! Animals may unintentionally eat debris along with their meal, or intentionally ingest trash due to its resemblance to real food.