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Did you know?
In 2021, even in the face of COVID-19 variants, 320,000 International Coastal Cleanup volunteers in dozens of countries collected roughly 5.6 million pounds of trash in one day.
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Taking a Deeper Dive
The Value of International Cleanups
International Coastal Cleanup Day - September 17, 2022
 Beach and ocean cleanups have become one of the staples in addressing the ocean plastic crisis. With recent studies showing that between 70% and 80% of ocean plastic is located on shorelines, the importance of cleanups and the analysis of the plastic is more important than ever. Understanding what categories of plastic are found on shorelines and in coastal waters helps scientists and advocates tackle ocean trash at a global scale, according to the Ocean Conservancy, which hosts the largest and oldest annual international cleanup.
Since 1986, the International Coastal Cleanup has mobilized more than 17 million volunteers to remove nearly 350 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways worldwide. In addition to collecting trash, volunteers log every item they find and contribute to the world’s largest repository of marine debris data.
In 2021, the top items collected by International Coastal Cleanup volunteers were plastic food wrappers (1,341,463), cigarette butts (1,134,292), and plastic beverage bottles (849,321). In 2021 alone, at least 27 peer-reviewed scientific publications cited International Coastal Cleanup data. The data has also been used to support policies that tackle single-use plastic: in the last year, International Coastal Cleanup data were cited in stories about California’s recently passed single-use food ware product ban, Virginia’s balloon release ban, and Florida’s proposed bill permitting smoking bans on beaches.
The Conservancy has also developed the Clean Swell® app, so cleanup volunteers can digitally record each item of trash they collect, which makes it easier to document the types of plastic found.
The Ocean Conservancy cleanup is typically held on the 3rd Saturday of September. This year’s cleanup will be held on September 17, 2022.
The Ocean Conservancy provides a map of organizations around the world coordinating local cleanups to make it easy for volunteers to participate.
While coastal cleanups happen throughout the year, the amazing part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Ocean Cleanup is that organizations around the world come together on a single day to comprehensively compile data and focus public attention on this global crisis. Image credit: Ocean Conservancy // Keegan Callender
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Mapping Plastic-Fouled Coastlines
See more beaches fouled by plastic on our ocean plastic trash map. To report a shoreline pervasively fouled by significant amounts of plastic debris, use our online plastic trash reporting app.
This Month’s Coastal Hotspot: Omoa, Honduras
 Trash from regional rivers in Honduras and Guatemala collects in a trash island off Roatan Island and ultimately ends up on beaches in Omoa, Honduras. It's an environmental disaster, according to local officials. Although one of the main sources are rivers in Honduras and Guatemala, sources say it could come from anywhere, including via currents from Central America or the Caribbean. Much of the debris arrives during the May to December rainy season. Source: Phys.org. I mage credit: Caroline Power.
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Solutions
See more solutions on our ocean plastic solutions page. Submit a solution we should know about here.
This Month’s Featured Solution: Rebound Exchange
 Rebound Exchange is a new quality-assured global trading platform for plastic recycling, based in Abu Dhabi. Launched on September 5, 2022, it enables buyers and sellers to efficiently trade recycled plastic with confidence, bringing increased opportunity for use of recycled content in the world’s products and packaging. Rebound facilitates standardization, quality assurance, and efficiency. It simplifies and streamlines transactions to support the growth of the circular economy, while reducing the negative impact of used plastic on our environment. Currently, few local economies have the resources to meet the growing demand for recycled plastic feedstock. Collection, sorting, grading, processing, and fulfillment are often insufficient, under-invested, and poorly coordinated. The lack of standardization and certification often prevents the movement of high-quality materials across borders, thus restricting access to good-quality materials for recycling. Rebound Exchange provides a solution to supply chain constraints and supports the ability of local businesses to participate in the global marketplace, enhancing income and overall economic growth in less developed regions.
Recent additions to our plastic solutions page include:
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Meet the Experts and Leaders
OpenOceans Global is identifying ocean plastic experts from around the world. Here are two experts leading efforts to reduce plastic pollution that you should know about.
Emily Woglom, Executive Vice President, Ocean Conservancy
 Emily Woglom’s deep policy experience in U.S. federal ocean policy, ocean planning, federal budget and appropriations, and marine debris led to her current position as Executive Vice President of Ocean Conservancy. Woglom has held a number of positions at Ocean Conservancy since 2010, first leading the government relations team, then providing strategic management for Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program. The program has long mobilized the International Coastal Cleanup®—the world’s largest volunteer effort on behalf of ocean health – and has grown exponentially in recent years to address the upstream causes of ocean plastic pollution and advance policy solutions. In 2021, Woglom was recognized by the World Wildlife Fund as one of the women leading the plastic revolution. Woglom is currently working alongside Ocean Conservancy’s CEO to help shape the organization’s direction and oversee the intersection of science, policy, and citizen engagement across all of the organization’s programs. Prior to working at Ocean Conservancy, Woglom served as a senior policy advisor to The Nature Conservancy’s marine program, and she also worked at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget where she oversaw budget and policy issues related to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Woglom is a graduate of Yale University and has a master’s from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.
Bill Robberson and Anna-Marie Cook, co-founders, Kamilo, Inc.
 Bill Robberson and Anna-Marie Cook are the co-founders of Kamilo, Inc. a public benefit corporation committed to creating market-driven solutions to the global plastic waste crisis. Kamilo provides real-time global supply chain tracking of plastic from waste to its next recycled life with an innovative, geospatial-based platform. The goal is to bring accountability to the global plastics supply chain and recycled plastics markets through third-party verification of plastics recovery, processing, and repurposing. Robberson is a nationally recognized expert in plastics pollution research, prevention, and response, He also has extensive experience with the assembly, deployment, and maintenance of capture devices for outfalls, streams, and rivers. He is a board member of the Ocean Recovery Alliance. Robberson served in the U.S. EPA for 32 years, where he was a nationally recognized expert in water quality protection, treatment, environmental emergency response and use of geospatial information. In that role, he was the U.S. Regional Response Team Coordinator for Oceania and the Southwest where he developed marine debris action plans for American Samoa and Guam. Robberson is also a licensed professional engineer, decorated naval aviator, flight test pilot, and licensed airline pilot. Cook started her career with the U.S. EPA in the 1990s as a senior engineer and became EPA's subject-matter expert on microplastics and investigating the potential health impacts of plastic on the food chain. In 2010, Cook coordinated EPA’s Marine Debris Program where she created what became EPA’s national Trash Free Waters Program. Cook holds an M.S. in Environmental Engineering and a B.S. in Naval Architecture and Offshore Engineering, both from the University of California, Berkeley.
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