1.3m plastic bottles collected in a day in global volunteer ocean cleanup | Plastics | The Guardian

There’s an adage to “think globally, but act locally.”

Back in the 1980s, a group called “ocean conservancy” held an event to clean up the beaches along Texas’s coastline. They managed to signup 2,800 volunteers and spent a weekend cleaning up. 

They were on to something, and grew the organization. It currently consists of 19.7 million people, across 166 countries. 

It’s not just a weekend of activity, but lots of individual events held throughout the year. 

And to date, they estimate that they have managed to collect 184,000 tons of waste, with much of the 439 million items being plastic water bottles. 

The great part is that you don’t have to belong to the group to contribute (though certainly you can). You can head down to a local beach (or a park that may have pollution) by yourself or with a group and just start collecting things and dispose of them properly. 

The earth thanks you. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/26/plastic-bottles-coastal-cleanup-ocean-conservancy