The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) is planning a number of cleanups on Outer Cape beaches during the month of September. Volunteers are invited to join the cleanups and the “trash tallies” which follow, where all debris items are inventoried.
Last year, 160 members of the CCS Beach Brigade conducted 26 beach cleanups and collected and counted over 37,000 debris items.
“We are lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world where, in effect, ‘we clean clean beaches,'” said program director Laura Ludwig. “Yet we remove well over three tons of debris from our shores each year, from the lightest piece of a balloon to the heaviest pile of lobster gear, all of it generated by human activity. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, we can in this way directly contribute to the health of our ecosystem.”
Beach Brigade volunteers tallied the following top 10 debris items from our clean beaches in 2022:
2,570 non-descript rigid plastic pieces
2,242 cigarette butts
2,221 plastic food wrappers
1,820 non-descript plastic film pieces
1,580 plastic bottle caps
1,036 non-descript plastic foam pieces
972 rope pieces shorter than 3-feet
783 net pieces
586 balloons and strings
444 plastic straws and stirrers
Leading off the September beach cleanups is the Center’s COASTSWEEP, now in its 15th year. Held Sept. 21, from 10 am to 12 pm, volunteers gather at Herring Cove Visitor’s Center. Debris collected will be tallied for inclusion in the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) global database. Registration is required.
Next up, it’s the Center for Coastal Studies 8th annual OUTER CAPE CLEANUP. This cleanup takes place on four consecutive days from Friday, Sept. 22 through Monday, Oct. 9, and extends from Coast Guard Beach in Eastham to Race Point in Provincetown. Volunteers may choose one or more days, but please note, these are full-day events, rain or shine (with an exception for hurricanes!) from 8 am to 4 pm. During the week following the cleanup, there will be an Outer Cape Cleanup Trash Tally, which typically requires as many days and volunteers. Registration for the cleanup is required, and additional details will be sent following registration.
PLEASE SEE SCHEDULE AS DATES FOR OUTER CAPE CLEANUP HAVE CHANGED DUE TO WEATHER,
