This year, be part of the Ocean Conservancy’s Annual International Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 17.  In Marion, Mattapoisett, and Wareham, volunteers will be picking up litter and trash along the shoreline.

Participants will be part of a world-wide effort of over 350,000 people in 70 countries -- all doing the same thing on the same day in their home towns.

Volunteers are especially needed in Mattapoisett.

The effort, dubbed Massachusetts CoastSweep, will begin at 10 a.m., with volunteers gathering at Silvershell Beach in Marion, Little Harbor Beach in Wareham, and the town beach on Water Street in Mattapoisett.  Gloves, bags, and data cards will be provided.  From there, the volunteers will spread out to all public beaches in the three towns, as well as to other areas.

After picking up the trash, all volunteers will meet again at their respective beaches to weigh the litter and turn in data cards.  That will be at 12 p.m.

“The beaches are covered with litter left over from the long summer," Peter McDonald, coordinator of the Massachusetts CoastSweep effort along the northern shores of Buzzards Bay. "Trash gets left on beaches by bathers and dropped overboard from boats.  Plus, we’ve just been through a tropical storm which dumped much debris on all our beaches."

McDonald added that some of this trash is dangerous to people using the beaches, as well as to the marine wildlife we have here.

"Birds get their necks caught in 6-pack holders, fish and birds ingest cigarette butts, and other wildlife gets caught in discarded ropes and nets,” he said.

During the 2010 CoastSweep in the three towns, 45 people turned out on a beautiful sunny morning last September, and together picked up 550 pounds of trash from 8 miles of beaches and shorelines.

The Urban Harbors Institute at UMass Boston reports that in Massachusetts last year, over 3,000 volunteers came out to clean-up shorelines and waterways. Volunteers covered 140 miles, picking up over 117,000 debris items that weighed 22,399 pounds. Among ICC participants in Massachusetts were 11 divers, who removed 60 pounds of debris from below the water's surface.

According to the Ocean Conservancy, “During the 25th anniversary cleanup in 2010, 615,407 volunteers in 114 countries picked up more than 8 million pounds of trash and other debris —- enough to cover about 200 football fields -- trash that has a major impact on ocean health. Toxic materials enter the food chain, sharp items injure beachgoers, and accident-causing debris snarls boat propellers. Trash weakens economies, sapping precious dollars from tourism and our seafood industries. And it harms individual species as well as entire ecosystems, like coral reefs, that are essential for the survival of marine life.”

Here in Massachusetts last year 48% of the debris originated from land-based activities such as picnics, festivals, sports, and beach activities. Litter washed from streets, parking lots, and storm drains also contributed to this category of debris. Worldwide, these activities accounted for 58% of the debris collected.

Smoking-related activities, in the form of cigarette filters, cigar tips, and tobacco packaging, accounted for 63% of the debris found in Massachusetts.

Globally, debris from smoking-related activities made up 38% of the debris collected. Debris items from ocean and waterway activities - activities that originate offshore - accounted for 9% of the debris found in Massachusetts.

The “Top Ten” debris items found provides a snapshot of the primary items found by ICC volunteers. Last year the Top Ten accounted for 84% percent of all the debris found in Massachusetts. The top three items alone – cigarette butts, plastic bags, and food wrappers/containers. – accounted for nearly 54% of all debris in Massachusetts.

The Ocean Conservancy’s cleanup effort in Massachusetts is under the auspices of the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). It is funded by donations from the general public and from organizations such as the New England Aquarium, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Department of Coastal Zone Management.

Anyone interested in volunteering to help clean up the beaches on Saturday, September 17 can call Peter McDonald at 508-748-0286 or email him at peterconversemcdonald@gmail.com.