Wastewater Visibility News
Honoring 40 Years of Beach Cleanup Volunteering – International Coastal Cleanup® 2025
September 16, 2025
Wastewater Visibility News
Each year in September, a worldwide effort to tackle the waste in our natural waters, called the International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC) is conducted at beaches and natural water sources with the help of thousands of volunteers. This year, the ICC celebrates 40 years of protecting our beaches, oceans, and waterways.
During the 2024 ICC, over 486,000 volunteers around the world collected over 7.4 million pounds of trash, including:
- over 1.4 million food wrappers
- over 1.2 million beverage bottles
- over 1.2 million cigarette butts
That’s a lot of trash! The organizers, Ocean Conservancy, are anticipating an even larger turnout for this year’s efforts.
As water and wastewater professionals know all too well, PFAS and other plastic contaminants are an ongoing challenge in taking care of natural waterways and potable water supplies. Efforts like the International Coastal Cleanup aim to tackle a major source of these contaminants: trash on our beaches and shores.
| WHO | Hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the world. |
| WHAT | ICC volunteers collect millions of pounds of trash for the world’s largest beach and waterway cleanup effort, contributing to cutting edge plastic pollution research, helping protect sensitive habitats and marine life, and providing data that fuels policy change. |
| WHEN | ICC Day is Saturday, September 20, 2025, but many cleanups occur throughout the month. Find the date for a cleanup near you at signuptocleanup.org. |
| WHERE | Global – visit signuptocleanup.org to learn more. |
Florida International Coastal Cleanup® Events
Miami – Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park – Area A (Sign up at Eventbrite) – Volunteers will receive a free t-shirt and reusable cup (while supplies last). This location has the honor of being a flagship site for the ICC effort this year.
Palm Beach County, multiple dates and locations – Check the page for cleanup dates and locations between now and October 11.
John D. Macarthur Beach State Park – Free park admission with participation in the cleanup event. Sign in on the day. You may also get a free t-shirt!
Broward County – Multiple locations organized for Saturday, September 20. Find one near you on their list.
Not in one of these locations? Ocean Conservancy has an interactive map of organized cleanup dates and locations.
In addition to trash pickup, volunteers are asked to help with cleanup data. Collecting statistics about the types of trash in our waterways helps scientists work with environmental, water, and wastewater professionals on actionable solutions to pollution. Download the Clean Swell app before the event to participate.
According to the organizers, Ocean Conservancy:
This database is the world’s largest repository of marine debris data and is used to inform scientists, conservation groups, governments and industry leaders about ocean trash to fuel plastic pollution prevention and advocacy efforts. ICC data was recently used in a peer-reviewed study that shows plastic bag bans lead to reduced plastic bag pollution. Furthermore, ICC data has also been instrumental in spurring policy change, from being used to promote California’s SB 54, the Florida balloon release ban, and the Farewell to Foam Act, to advocating for source reduction in the upcoming plastics treaty.
Ocean Conservancy press release, September 3, 2025
Get out there and #SeaTheChange!
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