Keeping Our Beaches Clean this Fourth of July and Beyond

The Fourth of July is nearly here, and many of us are excited for the festivities. We look forward to escaping to our favorite beach or lake to enjoy the fireworks and food this holiday is widely known for. 

But once the celebrations end, we’re often left with a less-than-festive sight - tons of trash covering our beloved beaches. So much trash is left behind that Surfrider Foundation has dubbed July 5th the Dirtiest Beach Day of the Year. From single-use plastic foodware and packaging to fireworks debris and balloons, our beaches are left littered with remnants of the day before. 

The Surfrider Foundation knows things can be better, which is why we work to clean up the trash on the fifth of July and fight year-round to prevent single-use plastics from polluting our beaches in the first place. 

As you gear up to celebrate this holiday weekend, follow these tips to reduce your impact, minimize your trash and help protect the places we love. 

Tips for a Cleaner Fourth of July

• Choose to Reuse: When preparing for your Fourth of July celebrations, use sustainable, durable reusable foodware instead of single-use plastic. Bring your own reusable cups, plates and cutlery, and enjoy your day without worrying about adding to the plastic pollution on the beach. Feeling extra festive? Choose decorations that can be used year after year! 
• Think Natural or Recyclable: If you aren’t able to use reusables, opt for recyclable or natural materials, such as aluminum, hay, bamboo, etc. Check out our Ocean Friendly Foodware Guide for alternative product ideas. Remember to skip the bioplastics as research has shown that bioplastics can be just as harmful to our environment as their petroleum based counterparts. 
• Leave No Trace: Everything you bring to the beach with you, remember to take back home. Packing out what you packed in helps reduce the strain on beachside trash receptacles and limits the amount of trash that may be accidentally littered when the bins get too full. 
• Join a Cleanup: Volunteer with your local Surfrider Chapter and participate in a cleanup on the fifth of July. You’ll get to see firsthand how much trash is on our beaches, and you can become part of the solution as well. Don’t have a Surfrider Chapter near you? Do a solo beach cleanup and log your results in our database.

Our beaches need help all year round, and Surfrider activists are working nonstop to keep our beaches clean and free from plastic pollution. Just last year, over 360,000 pounds of trash was removed from beaches across the United States during nearly 1,300 Surfrider cleanup events. Unfortunately, over 80% of that trash was made from plastic. You can learn more about plastic pollution on our beaches and see all of Surfrider’s beach cleanup data at cleanups.surfrider.org. This data is not only educational, but is used to help pass plastic pollution reduction legislation at the local, state and federal levels in an effort to stop plastic pollution at the source. And now's the time for you to join Surfrider in the fight to protect our ocean and coasts from plastic pollution. 

Taking Your Efforts to the Next Level

• Start a Fundraiser: Starting a peer to peer fundraiser is a great way to get your friends, family and coworkers involved in raising money to support Surfrider’s ongoing work. Spread the word about Surfrider while helping to fundraise for the ocean. 
• Take Action: Get involved in plastic policy work and sign an action alert. Make your voice heard and tell your representatives that we don’t want more plastic pollution and that we are ready for a more sustainable future. 
• Become a Monthly Donor: Most Surfrider chapters and clubs hold monthly beach cleanups (some hold more!). Our generous monthly donors help ensure we can always be ready to defend our ocean! Become a monthly donor member and help sustain year-round beach cleanup operations.

When the fifth of July is over, the Surfrider Foundation’s work to protect our ocean, waves and beaches doesn’t stop. Join us in our fight against plastic pollution and become a friend of the ocean today.

Thanks to our Better Beach Alliance Partners, REEF and Costa for their continued support.