PORT ANGELES — Volunteers will flock to North Olympic Peninsula beaches to clear them of plastic and other marine debris on Saturday.
Volunteers can register at the Washington Coast Savers website and at a website specifically for only Olympic National Park beaches, the park having taken over registration for park beaches this year.
To register to help clean up any beach outside of Olympic National Park, see https://www.coastsavers.org. To register for a park beach, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/2023-olympic-national-park-wa-coastal-cleanup-2042699. Choose from one of three areas: Kalaloch, Mora or Ozette.
Every April, thousands of volunteers remove tons of trash from more than 300 miles of shoreline in Washington state in the annual Washington Coast Cleanup (WCC). Two other cleanup events are on Fourth of July weekend and on Sept. 16.
In 2022, 1,175 people removed 61,380 pounds of marine debris from beaches during the three annual cleanups.
Much of the event is organized and sponsored by Washington CoastSavers, an alliance of partners and volunteers dedicated to keeping the state’s beaches clean of marine debris through coordinated beach cleanups, education and prevention efforts.
Saturday’s cleanup had drawn 531 volunteers by Thursday afternoon, said CoastSavers Coordinator Megan Juran. Volunteers can register or just show up, except at the ONP cleanups.
More hands would be welcome along the Western Straits — Clallam Bay and west — as well as the Quinault Indian Nation, Juran said.
Washington CoastSavers is working with Net Your Problem on a pilot recycling program to get plastics that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill into the reuse and recycling stream.
Items like dirty and colored Styrofoam, PVC, lighters and wrappers will be used to generate energy in other industries while items like hard plastic buoys, foam floats, white Styrofoam, nets and ropes will go to Ocean Legacy in British Columbia to be mechanically recycled, turned into plastic pellets, and given another life as a new plastic product.
Despite the removal efforts, large amounts of marine debris continues to impact our coastal ecosystems by harming wildlife through ingestion or entanglement; breaking down into smaller pieces known as micro-plastics; damaging and degrading habitats; threatening the health and safety of all; and degrading the quality of experience for visitors and coastal communities alike.
“This tremendous marine debris removal effort would not be possible without the hundreds of volunteers who participate in the cleanup day as well as the organizations, agencies and tribal partners who work together behind the scenes to pull off such an incredible effort,” Juran said.
Cleanup site coordinators from Washington State Parks, the Grassroots Garbage Gang, Surfrider Foundation, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Lions Clubs International, the Olympic Peninsula Chief Petty Officer Association of the U.S. Coast Guard, the Port Townsend Marine Science Center and Keeping The Ocean Blue will host this year’s site registration stations.
Park beaches
Olympic National Park is one of many alliance partners participating in this annual event. Some of these coastal areas are part of the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, and all park beaches will present unique challenges for participants, organizers said.
For example, motor vehicles are not allowed on any park beach, and all litter or debris must be removed on foot. Camping in the coastal campgrounds of Olympic National Park (Kalaloch, Mora and Ozette) will be free for volunteers beginning this evening through Sunday morning. Backcountry permit fees also will be waived for volunteer participants staying overnight on wilderness beaches of Olympic National Park.
At some locations, such as Cape Alava and Sand Point, dedicated volunteers must hike several miles just to reach the beach, then gather trash and haul it back to the trailhead at Lake Ozette, according to a park press release.
“Besides using garbage bags to clear debris, some volunteers tie multiple buoys or floats to their framed backpacks while others may roll out automobile tires one by one, the release said.
“It takes all kinds of ingenuity and lots of sweat to keep the coast clean,” said park Volunteer Coordinator Heather Stephens.
Here are some tips for volunteers from Washington CoastSavers:
• Register for a beach near you if possible. If you are going to travel far to the beach, we encourage you to carpool as parking can be limited.
• While reusable bags will be provided at some locations, think of bringing your own. CoastSavers suggests old feed or cloth bags.
• Plastic gloves also will be provided, but bringing your own reusable gloves will help you avoid single-use plastics. Reusable water bottles and snack bags are also encouraged.
And be prepared for rain, CoastSavers said.
Other beach cleanups
• The Olympic Peninsula Paddlers will host a cleanup at Marlyn Nelson County Park in Sequim from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
The county park is at 2499 Port Williams Road in Sequim.
• Hosting a beach cleanup on the day after Earth Day is the Friends of Fort Flagler. The cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
To register, go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-beach-clean-up-tickets-484076976267.
The park will provide free day passes to any volunteer without one.
