close

Coastal Cleanup

3 min read

Numerous volunteers will hit local beaches and waterways this weekend to clean them up.

The annual Coastal Cleanup will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon worldwide. Organ-ized nationally by the Ocean Conservancy and coordinated locally by Keep Lee County Beautiful and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, the event aims to remove debris and raise awareness.

Trish Fancher, program coordinator for Keep Lee County Beautiful, explained that Lee County has participated in the cleanup since 1989. Some local groups have been taking part in it for longer.

“The most important thing is to get the stuff out of the environment, any kind of litter and casual debris,” she said. “And we actually record what kinds of items we’re finding.”

The data is submitted to the Ocean Conservancy, which uses it for education and legislation purposes. For example, the information revealed that loading docks were heavy areas of trash contamination.

“Now they’ve put in legislation to monitor and control boating docks,” Fancher said.

Within Lee County, there are 19 sites that are scheduled to be cleaned up. Four of the sites are located in Cape Coral, but only one is open to the public to participate. The open site is at Horton Park.

“We would love to host boaters and kayakers at that site,” she said, pointing out that debris can get caught in areas that are unaccessible by land, such as the canals and mangroves. “They can leave from their own dock and collect trash on their way, end up at Horton Park and deliver it there.”

Organizers are expecting between 2,000 and 2,500 volunteers countywide.

“Which is about 1,000 more than last year,” Fancher said.

Every year, the debris collected weighs anywhere from 5 tons or 6 tons to 10 tons. She noted that approximately 15 years ago, 50 tons to 60 tons of debris were being removed in Lee County.

“It’s a continuous battle,” Fancher said. “We can’t stop.”

The most collected items include fast food wrappers, straws, plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

“The number one item in every country around the world for the last 10 years have been cigarette butts,” she said.

Encountering animals tangled in the debris is also fairly common.

“That is one of the reasons why we do this,” Fancher said. “We don’t want to see that.”

Asked about odd finds over the years, she cited half of a plastic cow following Hurricane Charley, random roadway signs and lots of toys, single shoes and even a dye pack from a bank robbery.

“We found part of a mannequin one year,” Fancher said.

To participate, volunteers just simply need to show up at one of the public cleanup sites.

“There’s no need to pre-register,” she said. “They can just check in.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Axillary Flotilla 910 is in charge of the Horton Park site.

“They’ll have everything they need,” Fancher said.

Volunteers are provided with garbage bags, latex gloves, data cards and water to drink.

“We recommend comfortable clothing and closed-toe shoes,” she said.

They should bring their own sunblock, and a litter grabber can be helpful if they have one.

“We do work, rain or shine, as long as it’s not lightning,” Fancher said.

For more information about the Coastal Cleanup, visit: klcb.org/sp_coastalcleanup.htm.

For information on the Horton Park cleanup site or volunteering, contact Rob Raybuck, of the U.S. Coast Guard Axillary Flotilla 910, at 239-220-4254.

Horton Park is at 2600 S.E. 26th Place.