INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP
Another International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is in the books! Saturday, September 16's ICC was a tremendous success thanks to all the VBAs who came out to help with this major event. There were 34 VBAs serving for more than 117 volunteer hours. The VBAs helped by greeting over 170 volunteer visitors, educating them on the importance of this worldwide event, instructing them about how to record the trash they collected, and working with them to safely dispose of the collected items.
Over 5,500 trash items were collected in Walton County this year. The top five items were cigarette butts, other plastic waste, plastic bottle caps, plastic/foam pieces, and food wrappers. Note that these are the same top five items collected last year.
ICC is one of the most important events that globally emphasizes the importance of maintaining a clean environment for our oceans and beaches. The event is coordinated by the Ocean Conservancy (OC) and began more than 35 years ago. ICC unites countries and people with the common goal of maintaining clean shorelines, rivers, lakes, and waterways. Thousands of people volunteered, all having that common goal regardless of where they live.
Check out the pictures below that were taken during this year's event. A common thread in all pictures are the smiling faces of the volunteers. What a fun day in Walton County!
We want to thank all VBAs who gave their time and efforts to make this event a big success. We would be remiss if we did not give a huge shout out to Christina Cabral who organized this important event for the FOSWST. Hats off to Christina for a job well done!
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