Note to new volunteers:
Pre-registration closed Tuesday morning, Sept. 13. At this time, you do not need to sign up to attend. T-shirts will be distributed to volunteers who did not pre-register while supplies last.
If you plan to attend, please check the site list link below and choose one of the sites that does not say "registration closed," as these sites have plenty of volunteers.
Thanks for volunteering!
Trash on our beaches and in our waterways isn’t just unsightly – it’s also potentially dangerous to marine life and in some cases harmful to water quality. But you can help make a difference in Delaware by joining volunteers of all ages at the 26th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 17.
Sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the cleanup spans the First State’s 97-mile eastern coastline and includes river and ocean shorelines as well as wetland and watershed areas. This year, more than 40 sites in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties are targeted.
Volunteers are strongly encouraged to pre-register on the DNREC website to ensure everyone has the supplies they need and receive a custom-designed 2011 Coastal Cleanup t-shirt in appreciation of their effort. Pre-registration closed Tuesday morning, Sept. 13. On the day of the event, T-shirts will be distributed to volunteers who have not pre-registered while supplies last.
-
Click on map below for this year's Coastal Cleanup locations. 
At last year’s Delaware Coastal Cleanup, a record 2,500 dedicated volunteers from civic organizations, youth groups, businesses and families collected more than 9 tons of trash from more than 40 sites along Delaware’s shorelines and tributaries.In addition to large numbers of food wrappers, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bags, used tires and cigarette butts, their more unusual finds included a bridesmaid dress, helium gas cylinder, TV, VCR, Christmas wreath, hockey puck, cell phone, bathtub, car bumper, 5-gallon can of driveway sealer, lottery tickets and an insulated pizza delivery bag.
This year, volunteers will be given the usual black trash bags and a new color - tan - for recyclable glass, plastic and aluminum beverage containers. The bags will then be placed in separate piles at each sites' designated trash pickup site.
Delaware’s Cleanup is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup and a part of the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines and lakes by volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world help each year to rid the environment of marine debris and collect detailed information on the types and quantities of refuse.
The types and quantities of trash collected are recorded on data cards and forwarded to the Center for Marine Conservation, which compiles the information for all of the cleanups held in the country and around the world. This information helps identify the source of the debris and focus efforts on eliminating or reducing it.
A recent marine debris five-year report released by the Ocean Conservancy found that general-source marine debris – trash that comes from both ocean- and land-based activities – increased across the United States by more than five percent each year. (This report can be seen at www.oceanconservancy.org.)
The Ocean Conservancy supplies trash bags, data cards and pencils. Delaware’s cleanup is also co-sponsored with Delmarva Power which provides collectable t-shirts for the participants. Another key sponsor is the Playtex Division of Energizer Personal Care, which provides gloves. DNREC is responsible for organizing the event, recruiting volunteers, distributing supplies, ensuring trash removal and tabulating all the data collected. A new sponsor, Waste Management, will handle trash pickup this year. Rain date will be the following Saturday, Sept. 24.
For more information about Delaware’s Coastal Cleanup, call coordinator Jack Hoban at 302-739-9902 or email john.hoban@state.de.us.
