Pictured above, volunteers at the beach cleanup with REEF and Surfrider Côte Basque.
On Saturday September 17, 2022 the “Better Beach Alliance presented by REEF and Surfrider” honored International Coastal Cleanup Day with nine events around the world. During this global day of service, we brought together communities in nine different countries for beach cleanups followed by festive gatherings, such as movie screenings and concerts, to celebrate our collective impact. Surfrider U.S. was joined by our official Surfrider affiliates in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Australia, Japan, Argentina and Canada for the largest comprehensive impact on a cleanup campaign with a corporate partner in our organization's history! Across the U.S., 2,100 people removed almost 4,000 pounds of trash and plastic from beaches and waterways and combined with our global affiliates, more than 3,000 people removed almost 5,000 pounds of debris.
Pictured above, volunteers at the Surfrider Argentina beach cleanup.
International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD) is one of the world's largest annual environmental conservation events that engages people to remove trash from beaches and waterways in support of clean water, healthy beaches and overall ocean protection. Since its inception 36 years ago, over 17 million volunteers have collected more than 348 million pounds of trash across 100 countries. The growing impact and momentum of ICCD inspires continued action and activism throughout the year with the ultimate goal of preventing plastic pollution from entering into our ocean.
Pictured above, volunteers at the Surfrider Côte Basque beach cleanup.
Removing debris from our coasts is one actionable aspect of creating lasting protection for treasured natural environments. Measuring and reporting the data of what is found on our beaches and waterways is equally as significant. Throughout the year, the data from beach cleanups is carefully tracked and analyzed by Surfrider advocates. This quantititive data is then presented to official decision makers and legislative officials in the ongoing fight to establish lasting policy change and to eliminate plastic pollution as the source.
Pictured above, volunteers at the Surfrider Australia beach cleanup in Torquay.
Thanks to all of the volunteers who continue to contribute to Surfrider beach cleanups around the world and to every coastal steward who participated on this year's impactful International Coastal Cleanup Day. We are proud to partner with REEF through the Better Beach Alliance and are grateful for their presenting sponsorship of our national Beach Cleanup program! Learn more about the Better Beach Alliance here.
Pictured above, participants at the Surfrider Canada cleanup in Tofino.
Pictured above, paticipants receive cleanup instructions at the cleanup with Surfrider Italy.
Pictured above, participants at the Surfrider Japan cleanup.
Pictured above, volunteers at the Surfrider Portugal beach cleanup.
Pictured above, volunteers at the Surfrider Spain beach cleanup.
Pictured above, impact from the Surfrider San Diego beach cleanup.