Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful Announces Locations for the International Coastal Cleanup

Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful, Inc. (KPBCB) is pleased to announce the 22nd annual International Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 15, 2007 and alternate dates. The event is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy and coordinated locally by KPBCB. Last year, more than 358,000 international volunteers cleaned up litter and marine debris from the shores, lakes, canals and rivers of 68 nations, from Brazil to Bangladesh. Locally, more than 3,800 volunteers in Palm Beach County picked up nearly 68,000 pounds of litter and debris from area sites.

Not just unsightly, marine litter and debris can harm and/or kill fish and wildlife through entanglement and ingestion. During the 2006 Cleanup, 1,074 animals were found entangled in marine debris by international volunteers, including a one-year old seal that was entangled in fishing gear in Hobe Sound, Florida.

For this cleanup event, volunteers record what they're picking up on special Ocean Conservancy-provided data cards, making an actual list of the types of trash and debris picked up at some area sites. Last year, Palm Beach County was highlighted for the most unusual item in Florida - a plastic bull found by students from the Palm Beach Maritime Academy cleaning up John’s Island in the Lake Worth Lagoon.

This year, local volunteers will gather at multiple locations on September 15th and alternate dates with most events beginning at 8 am and ending at noon. For a list of sites, dates and times, please visit www.keeppbcbeautiful.org or call (561) 686-6646. Community Service Hours will be given. Volunteers should pre-register by contacting the volunteer coordinators listed for each site. Trash bags and other supplies will be provided and volunteers are encouraged to wear hats, sunscreen, and sturdy closed-toe shoes and bring water. Free ICC t-shirts will be given to volunteers while supplies last.

Several Lake Worth Lagoon sites are recruiting individuals with private boats to help clean up John’s Island in the central part of Lake Worth Lagoon and Munyon Island in the north end. Note: No boat transportation to the islands is being provided for the general public. A limited number of volunteers without boats may also register at this location. However, individual volunteers without boats will be confined to cleanup on the mainland. Boaters and individuals should register in advance by calling the following site coordinators:

Southern Boulevard Causeway site – for John’s Island
Contact Cristina Llorens/Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Phone: 561-681-6605 Email: cristina.llorens@dep.state.fl.us

Lakeside Park in the Village of North Palm Beach – for Munyon Island
Contact Nancy Hensler/Village of North Palm Beach
Phone: 561-841-3386 Email: nhensler@village-npb.org