WASHINGTON – Today, on World Rivers Day, as part of Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, 287 volunteers collected 2,009 pounds of trash from Kingman Island along the banks of the Anacostia. This unique local ecosystem is home to more than 100 different species of wildlife. This cleanup in D.C. is part of an annual global effort to remove trash from beaches and waterways around the world, culminating in over 18 million volunteers and 385 million pounds of trash removed from the environment since 1986.

“While it’s critical that we work to turn off the tap of plastics flowing into the environment, we all have a role to play in protecting our ocean from plastic pollution. Every piece of trash collected and recorded today not only helps to preserve local ecosystems but also informs important research and advocacy. I am so thankful to all of the volunteers who showed up for our ocean today,” said Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Director of Conservation Cleanups, Allison Schutes.

At this year’s event, volunteers found a wide variety of trash from everyday items like single-use plastic bottle caps, straws, food wrappers and foam food containers to some weirder items like a headless action figure, a suitcase, and even an analog television estimated to be from the early 1980s.

But what was found today on Kingman Island is just the tip of the iceberg – every year, more than 11 million metric tons of plastic waste are estimated to enter the ocean, impacting more than 1,300 species of marine life, including seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals. Plastics never fully break down in the environment and instead, break into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics. Microplastics are being found everywhere scientists look, from the depths of the Mariana trench to mountain tops, and even our dinner plates, showing up in proteins, salt, and even drinking water.

In addition to the direct benefit of removing trash from the environment, the data collected by ICC volunteers using the Clean Swell app or data sheets contributes to Ocean Conservancy’s marine litter database. 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 has been instrumental in spurring policy change from being used to promote California’s SB 54, the Florida balloon release ban, the Farewell to Foam Act, and advocate for source reduction in the upcoming plastics treaty.

Photos and b-roll from today’s cleanup can be found HERE. (Credit: Ocean Conservancy/Alyssa Schukar)

The International Coastal Cleanup media kit with photos, b-roll and data can be found HERE.

You can find a two pager with toplines from the 2023 ICC data HERE.

You can find the full 2023 ICC report HERE.

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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, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram.