WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ocean Conservancy invites Washingtonians to join the global effort to tackle the threat of ocean plastic pollution as the organization’s International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC) returns to Kingman and Heritage Islands in the Anacostia River on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Last year, nearly 300 volunteers removed nearly 2,000 pounds of trash. Globally, International Coastal Cleanup events drew nearly 470,000 volunteers, removing over 8 million pounds of trash across 15,508 miles of coastline.

As in previous years, the event will offer volunteers breakfast as well as lunch, and will feature a short speaking program as well as face-painting and other family-friendly activities. The cleanup is a unique opportunity to help preserve a unique local ecosystem that is home to more than 100 different species of wildlife. Ocean Conservancy partners with the Living Classrooms Foundation to help organize this event.

New this year, the event will celebrate the beginning of Ocean Conservancy’s campaign to ban plastic foam (colloquially known by the brand name Styrofoam) nationally. As detailed in Ocean Conservancy’s new report, “What The Foam?!”, plastic foam takeout containers were the seventh most common item collected by International Coastal Cleanup volunteers in 2022, the highest ever this item has ranked. Since 1986, volunteers have removed nearly 9 million plastic foam cups, plates and containers, weighing approximately 160,000 pounds.

“Foam foodware is an absolute menace in the environment,” said Allison Schutes, Director of the International Coastal Cleanup at Ocean Conservancy and a D.C. resident. “Foam quickly breaks up into tiny pieces that – like all plastics – never fully break down, meaning they remain in rivers and the ocean indefinitely. We are lucky to live in a place like D.C. that has already taken bold action, but because plastics, especially foams, are lightweight and travel easily through the watershed, what happens outside of D.C. impacts our waters, too.”

The District has led the way in tackling plastic foam, passing a ban on plastic foam foodware in 2014, before any U.S. states. International Coastal Cleanup data suggest that the ban has had an impact: when adjusted for number of volunteers, the average number of foam cups, plates and takeout containers collected in D.C. since 2016, when the ban was first implemented, has dropped 95%.

“The data from D.C. make evident that phasing out foam is the right approach to this problem,” said Dr. Anja Brandon, Associate Director of U.S. Plastics Policy at Ocean Conservancy. “The District was clearly ahead of the curve when it passed this legislation nearly 10 years ago.”

Nationally, momentum has increased since then, with just under a dozen U.S. states following suit with similar legislation. But the ocean needs bigger and bolder action now, which is why Ocean Conservancy is calling on Congress to say, “What The Foam?!,” and pass a national ban on this single-use, nonrecyclable material, starting with foodware.

To help draw attention to this major issue, the D.C. cleanup event will feature an art installation made of plastic foam created by local artist Wendy Sittner. Volunteers will be able to see it up close, take photos, and spread the word on social media with the hashtag #WhatTheFoam?!.

“Ocean Conservancy is urging Americans to say, ‘What The Foam?!’ to Congress, and help us eliminate this material for good,” said Nick Mallos, Vice President of Ocean Plastics at Ocean Conservancy. “Your participation in the 2023 International Coastal Cleanup is just the beginning.”

Launched in 1986, the ICC has mobilized more than 17 million volunteers to remove over 350 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways worldwide.

Volunteers can register on Eventbrite. Volunteers will receive cleanup supplies and t-shirts. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Photos from last year’s D.C. cleanup can be found here.

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INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP PARTNERS

The Coca-Cola Foundation remains a longtime International Coastal Cleanup partner and has supported the global event for more than two decades. Since 2000, Bank of America has partnered with Ocean Conservancy in support of the International Coastal Cleanup to keep our ocean clean and thriving across the globe. Other supporting partners of the 2023 International Coastal Cleanup include Anonymous, Anonymous Retired Bremerton Resident, Hilton Global Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Life Foundation, AXIS Capital, Citizens, The Forrest C. & Frances H. Lattner Foundation, Garnier, The Kleid Family Charitable Fund, Ocean Network Express (North America) Inc., Stanley, Brunswick Foundation, O-I Glass, Inc., The Philip Stephenson Foundation, and SeaBOS.

ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY’S TRASH FREE SEAS PROGRAM

Ocean Conservancy has led the fight for a clean, healthy ocean free of trash since 1986, when the U.S.-based nonprofit launched its annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Since then, Ocean Conservancy has mobilized millions of ICC volunteers to remove trash from beaches and waterways around the world while pioneering upstream solutions to the growing ocean plastics crisis. Ocean Conservancy invests in cutting-edge scientific research, implements on-the-ground projects, and works with conservationists, scientists, governments, the private sector and members of the public to change the plastics paradigm. To learn more about our Trash Free Seas® program visit oceanconservancy.org/trashfreeseas.

ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY 

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together with our partners, we create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.