Cleaning Up Our Coast

Cleaning Up Our Coast

About 2,400 community volunteers came together October 22 for the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup to tidy their beaches and coastal waterways.

Participants collected more than an estimated 10 tons of debris at 50 sites in Harrison, Hancock, and Jackson counties.

The 28th annual Gulf Coast event is organized and implemented by the Mississippi State University Extension Service in partnership with the Mississippi Marine Debris Task Force.

Volunteers recorded the types of items they found, which helps organizers determine sources of litter as they develop better public education about trash disposal and pollution prevention.

Plastics make up most of the trash littering these areas, but cigarettes, food wrappers, aluminum cans, and fishing line are also common.

Coastal Cleanup organizers will implement educational programs in 2017 to help citizens understand how to keep trash out of waterways and off beaches.

For more information about the Mississippi Coastal Cleanup, visit mscoastalcleanup.org.