Thousands of Central Florida residents are expected to participate in the 38th International Coastal Cleanup.

What You Need To Know

  • The International Coastal Cleanup is Saturday, Sept. 16

  • The global event draws in hundreds of thousands of participants around the world to remove trash from local coastlines, beaches and waterways

  • Dozens of local cleanups are happening in counties: Flagler, Volusia and Brevard

  • The Pineda Waterway Warriors, a local cleanup group based in Brevard, is keeping the county’s waterways clean and preparing for the event

The annual event was created by Ocean Conservancy more than 35 years ago. Each year, it draws hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the world to help remove trash from beaches, coastlines and waterways.

Per the organization’s annual report, more than 25,000 Floridians participated in the event last year and picked up more than one million trash items — the most of any state.

In Central Florida, dozens of cleanups are being held across Flagler, Volusia and Brevard counties:

To view more cleanups near you, visit Ocean Conservancy’s cleanup map.

One local cleanup group, the Pineda Waterway Warriors, is focused on cleaning an embankment off the Pineda Causeway during this year’s International Coastal Cleanup. Michelle Fitzgerald, a co-founder of the organization, said while the cleanup day can be hard work, it’s team spirit that keeps everyone going. 

“You are meeting people in your community that you never knew before and it’s just a chance to make some really good connections and have fun while you’re doing a good thing,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald encourages anyone interested to take part in Saturday’s cleanup. She said if you can’t partake in the event, there are other things you can do to help protect your local waterways. 

“There’s so many things we can do to take care of this precious, precious, gorgeous ecosystem,” Fitzgerald said. “Whether you want to pick up garbage, whether you want to support a group, make donations or something as basic as not making it worse.”

The Pineda Waterway Warriors was formed after Fitzgerald and her co-founders — Sharon Noll, Sherill Spaccio and Sandra Leone — met at the International Coastal Cleanup two years ago. Fitzgerald said the amount of trash they saw inspired her and her co-founders to take action.

“I was horrified that there was so much garbage by the water,” Fitzgerald said.

Shortly after, they started their nonprofit group dedicated to cleaning the Pineda Causeway and its waterways. Since 2021, the group has grown to more than 200 volunteers. Every other week, the group hosts cleanups, focusing on areas all across the causeway.

One area they’ve been focusing on is a party spot located just off the causeway and near the water. The spot is usually filled with trash after each Friday night, leaving dozens of bottles, food wrappers and beer cans behind. In just one cleanup of the area, the group picked up more than 220 pounds of garbage.

Despite the hard work, Fitzgerald said she is grateful to make a difference. 

“It’s a beautiful world we live in, especially here,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s important to me to preserve the health of manatees, dolphins, fish and crabs.”

In the past year, the Pineda Waterway Warriors have set up nearly 20 trash cans up and down the causeway. They empty the trash cans themselves every week. Since starting their cleanups, the group’s volunteers have picked up more than 28 tons of trash. 

“It’s such an easy thing to do and it’s an important thing to do,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said she is grateful to be part of the Pineda Waterway Warriors. She said we can all do something to make a positive impact on our environment.