National Clean-Up Day—Growing From One Day To Many
National Clean-Up Month: Every Day Makes A Difference
For each day that we’re alive, the planet takes care of us, which is why we’re dedicating the entire month of September to expand on national clean-up day and give back! This year and on, Ocean Blue will be celebrating national clean-up day—held on the third Saturday of September each year — on every day in September
All At Once Fundraiser
What Is The Great Global Cleanup?
The great global cleanup is a campaign dedicated to removing billions of pieces of trash all over the world. Various days of the year are specifically dedicated to helping make this goal a reality. National clean-up day and world clean-up day take place on the same day and are celebrated when volunteers clean the earth of litter, debris, trash and plastics that cause environmental pollution.
On the third Saturday of September, individuals in various states and countries clean up a wide range of nature areas—from parks to beaches and local community areas to hiking trails. If you’re not close to any natural areas, don’t worry! You don’t have to be located near an ocean or mountain area to take part, everyone is encouraged to clean up wherever they are! Because National Clean-Up and World cleanup day take place on the same day, you’ll be cleaning the earth along with millions of other people across the globe!
What is National Cleanup Month?
What better way to take care of our earth than to clean up as much of it as we can? Clean up month is an opportunity to activate as many volunteers to join or create a cleanup in September. That’s why the Ocean Blue Project is encouraging participants to join as many cleanups as possible during the month.
Every day and every piece makes a difference and we can only do this when we all come together! It doesn’t matter if you are a veteran environmentalist or a first-time volunteer, every person can have a tangible impact on our planet!
Community Cleanup Day Near Me
Participating in a community cleanup day near me can be as simple as picking up trash in your area or as detailed as creating a crew to undertake an ocean cleanup or river cleanup. No matter the size of the effort or donation, Ocean Blue is a great place to help with the process!
Where to Look
The first, and simplest way to get started on cleaning up our planet is locating a place to do it. One of the easiest ways to explore your local area and see where there’s a little – or a lot – of litter. The Ocean Blue Project (OBP) is also looking for 50 Ocean Blue Cleanup Crew Leaders to lead crews all around the U.S. during September and on Sept. 17, Ocean Blue will also be hosting a cleanup with Boxed Water at Venice Beach,
Instead of finding a cleanup crew to join, creating your own is also a great option! Companies and organizations can make a large impact through the power of numbers! For companies that have a shared focus on sustainability or that are interested in employee giving, creating a company Cleanup Crew can make a larger impact in local communities and can be a great use of paid volunteering hours!
Alternative Ways to Help
For individuals who want to help and aren’t able to be physically present, donations are a great way to join clean-up crews. This year, OBP is partnering with Healthy Human to give complimentary water bottles to anyone giving $50 dollars or more and the Johnson Ohana Foundation will match donations up to $2,500 dollars through Jack Johnson’s All At Once Initiative.
Every dollar donated goes towards organizing a clean up in the area where the donating company or individual is located, making it a great way to maintain a local impact! Ocean Blue can usually clean up 1 pound of plastic and debris from beaches and waterways for every $1 donated. Through October 15, Jack Johnson is making sure $1 = 2 pounds recovered from beaches and waterways flowing to our one world ocean.
Why Participate In National Cleanup Month?
Our goal is to recover 1 million pounds of plastic from beaches and waterways by 2025, and participating in National Cleanup Month can get us that much closer! By making the earth cleaner, we’re making it a healthier place for wildlife and humans alike.
Why It Matters
Litter, debris, trash and plastics that are scattered around the world have a negative impact on natural ecosystems and often end up in our waterways and oceans. Because of the prevalent use of disposable plastics and containers all across the globe, roughly 8 million tons of plastic find their way into the ocean every year. But why does this matter?
Roughly 94 percent of earth’s wildlife is found in our oceans and once plastics enter the ocean they can be difficult to recover and remove. Plastics and garbage can negatively impact underwater ecosystems by trapping animals, breaking down into microplastics, and displacing native plants. For these reasons and many more, cleaning up as much as we can is not just important, it’s necessary to preserve all sorts of life! The best way to get rid of plastics in the ocean is to make sure it never gets there in the first place!
International Coastal Cleanup
Each year, the International Coastal Cleanup addresses a large amount of plastic polluting our oceans. At the same time, there is also a large movement of volunteers who have made it their mission to change this! So far, the Ocean Blue Project alone has removed roughly 240,000 pounds of microplastics with the help of almost 6,000 ocean cleanup volunteers.
Through our impact, and alongside the help of environmental organizations around the world, we are making a tangible difference for our planet. With ocean cleanups and the teamwork of roughly 8 billion people in this world, we have the numbers to chip away at the estimated 8 million tons of plastic that enter our ocean every year.
Have a group ready to Cleanup? Sign up today!
David Long
Lorene Romero
Frank VanGetson
Please, keep up the good work!!!
Karisa Arterbury
Beach Cleanups Near Me
Beach Cleanup South Texas: https://oceanblueproject.org/event/south-padre-island-north-beach-cleanup-by-zenwtr/
Beach Cleanup California: https://oceanblueproject.org/event/venice-beach-california-ocean-blue-project-beach-clean-up/
