« Back to Press Landing

International Coastal Cleanup Day Collects Almost 600 Pounds of Trash Across South Walton

1 minute
|
undefined NaN, NaN

Walton County, FL – September 27 - The Walton County Tourism Department, along with the Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles, hosted an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) day on Saturday, Sept. 17. Volunteer Beach Ambassador teams worked with participants across five beach accesses from Miramar Beach to Inlet Beach.

Participants were able to track the amount of debris collected through the Clean Swell App. Information about the types of debris collected are communicated to the Ocean Conservancy TIDES Database. This information will provide valuable data to experts and educational programs that work to address the ever-growing problem of ocean litter.

Stats from the ICC Day are included below:

  • In total, 265 participants showed up to search the beaches for trash and debris.

 

  • 4,293 individual pieces of trash and debris were collected.

 

  • The top three items collected were cigarette butts (855), bottle caps (523), and food wrappers (489).

 

  • The top three beach for debris collected were Inlet Beach (1,222), Seagrove (882), and Miramar Beach (738).

 

  • Participants removed and collected 589.14 pounds of debris from South Walton’s beaches.

“It is truly impressive how our small community consistently demonstrates a true commitment to the environment,” said Friends of South Walton Sea Turtles (FOSWT) ICC Director Christina Cabral. “Walton County participants should feel proud of their contribution to the world’s largest volunteer effort to remove and record trash collected from local lakes, waterways, beaches, and the ocean. A special thanks goes to Volunteer Beach Ambassadors (VBAs) who tirelessly managed registration, shirt distribution and trash data collection.”

For more information on South Walton’s ICC day please contact Christina Cabral at cabralagain@gmail.com or (615) 232-4700.

For more information on International Coastal Cleanup day 2022, please visit the Ocean Conservancy website at www.oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/icc/