Are you looking for an opportunity to get outside with friends and family and do something that benefits your community and the environment? If so, you are encouraged to take part in the state’s largest single-day volunteer cleanup event, the 37th Annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup. The event will take place in Baldwin and Mobile counties on September 21, 2024, from 8 a.m. until noon.
“Without volunteers and the event sponsors, Alabama’s Coastal Cleanup would not be possible,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). “This event demonstrates what state agencies, business, industry and volunteers can do when working together for the benefit of all Alabamians. I am grateful for their generous efforts in keeping our coastal areas beautiful.”
Alabama’s Coastal Cleanup is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, an effort to remove marine debris from coastal waters around the world. The event is coordinated by ADCNR’s State Lands Division and Alabama People Against a Littered State (PALS). Since 1987, more than 110,448 volunteers have participated in the Alabama Coastal Cleanup and removed 890 tons of marine debris from beaches, roadways, bayous, backwater and other coastal areas.
“For 37 years, Alabama PALS and ADCNR have been proud partners in the Alabama Coastal Cleanup,” said Spencer Ryan, Alabama PALS Executive Director. “Together we would like to say thank you to the thousands of dedicated volunteers that we have had the honor to work with during these 37 years of ‘Getting the Trash Out of the Splash.’ We are extremely proud of this successful partnership and look forward to growing this annual coastal effort in the future.”
In addition to removing various forms of marine debris, many of the plastic bottles and aluminum cans collected will be recycled. The types and number of debris will be recorded at each zone by participating volunteers. Organizers are recommending participants use the Ocean Conservancy Clean Swell app to tally the debris. Data collected over the years helps provide insight into the issue of marine debris and generates efforts to better understand its causes and mitigate it in the future. The Clean Swell app is available for free from the Apple and Android app stores. More information about the Clean Swell app can be found at www.oceanconservancy.org/trash-free-seas/international-coastal-cleanup/cleanswell.
Volunteers are needed for all cleanup sites in the 27 cleanup zones in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Zone coordinators will distribute trash grabbers, large trash bags, recycling bags, gloves and other cleanup supplies to participants. There is a limited number of t-shirts, scout badges and window decals available to participants on a first come, first served basis.
The 37th Alabama Coastal Cleanup is made possible by the generous support of 2024 Title Sponsor the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Additional sponsors include: Flora-Bama, CoastAL/Orange Beach, Ike’s Beach Service, Perdido Beach Resort, Bebo’s Express, Alabama Power Company, Lulu’s, Riviera Utilities, Rock & Roll Offs, AirBus, City of Gulf Shores, City of Orange Beach, Coastal Conservation Association-Alabama, Evonik, Home Depot, Kommerling-USA, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Baldwin County Sewer Service, Osprey Initiative, ALDOT, ALFA, Coca-Cola UNITED, Vulcan Materials Company, Alabama Farmer’s Cooperative, Honda America, and the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.
For more information about the coastal zones, zone captains, start times and safety tips, visit www.AlabamaCoastalCleanup.com or call (251) 928-9792.
You can also follow the Alabama Coastal Cleanup on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AlabamaCoastalCleanup.
Learn more about Alabama PALS at www.alpals.org.
ADCNR promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. Learn more at www.outdooralabama.com.
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Alabama Coastal Cleanup Set for Saturday, September 21
