PORT ANGELES — By the numbers: 1,550 volunteers . . . 40 sites . . . 17 tons — or 34,000 pounds — of trash.
Those are the totals that a Washington CoastSavers-led beach cleanup effort logged under sunny skies April 25.
The cleanups took place on beaches from Cape Disappointment to Cape Flattery, and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Flattery to Port Townsend, said Jon Schmidt, Washington CoastSavers coordinator, on Sunday.
The previous record for the volunteer turnout was 1,200, in 2012, Schmidt said.
Records for the greatest amount of trash collected was not certain Sunday, but it is likely that if 17 tons are not the record, it is among the largest amounts of trash collected for the area, Schmidt said.
He said the clear, warm weather was a part of the success of the day.
“It was a highly successful effort when you think of how many volunteers were on the beach for just a few hours,” he said.
Schmidt himself helped with the cleanup at Port Angeles’ downtown Hollywood Beach.
And U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Port Angeles native, showed up to help clean the long beaches at Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge.
The bulk of the trash collected were plastic bottles and items of plastic foam, but there were many boats — or parts of boats — included in the beach debris, Schmidt said.
“Given the number of boats that have been tied back to Japan [2011 earthquake and tsunami], it is likely the debris collected came from there,” he said.
Winter winds and current patterns tend to drive more distantly sourced debris ashore, Schmidt said.
In summers, about 70 percent of the debris is locally sourced, he added.
End-of summer trash will be removed during the International Coastal Cleanup, scheduled for Sept. 19.
For more information about Coast Savers programs or to sign up for the September cleanup, visit the website www.coastsavers.org.
In Port Townsend, it was not yet known Sunday how much trash was collected by Port Townsend volunteer, organized through the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.
But the number of volunteers roughly doubled, from 30 or 35 in 2014 to 70 this year, Schmidt said.
“This is a new partnership,” he said.
Schmidt said the CoastSavers’ cleanups have been expanding to inland beaches, but the next beach debris effort will be July 5 to remove spent fireworks in the Ocean Shores area.
Ocean Shores beaches are littered with spent fireworks after Fourth of July celebrations, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
