Washington Coast Cleanup Sept. 16 on Three Pacific Beaches, Some on the Strait

Published 09/06/23 at 5:27 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Port Angeles, Washington) – U.S. coastlines catch a lot of garbage coming from the ocean, often even more than what gets left behind on the beaches. International Coastal Cleanup Day is one way to keep up with the trash, a day that's usually held on the third Saturday of the month. (Photo courtesy CoastSavers)

Sound familiar? The Oregon coast has had such a day since the '80s, called SOLVE Beach Clean-Up. But the Washington coast needs some lovin' as well, and it will get it with Washington CoastSavers' version of International Coastal Cleanup day on the same day, September 16. Register here

Here, however, the cleanup day is more splintered, with CoastSavers overlooking three spots along the central Washington coast and several on the inner coastline along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The Olympic Peninsula cleanups are held through National Park Service and the Long Beach Peninsula cleanups are through a different group and at another time: see at https://ourbeach.org/.

Registration for the Washington coast event opened in August. Along the Pacific region, the three cleanups put on by Washington CoastSavers are at Ocean Shores, Westport / Grayland and at Ocean City. They all happen at 9 a.m. and go until noon.

Westport - courtesy Washington State Parks

Megan Juran, coordinator for Washington CoastSavers, said typically they oversee the Olympic Peninsula cleanups, but this year the park service and local Makah tribes took it into their own hands.

“Volunteer contributions and beaches participating are subject to change annually,” Juran said. “For example, while we have partnered with Olympic National Park since our organization's inception in 2007, this spring they have decided to take the lead on Park Service lands coordinating their own cleanups.”

This year, she said they're expecting about 500 volunteers for the event. Numbers can vary wildly from year to year.

Second Beach, La Push - CoastSavers

While participation numbers have dropped since the COVID years starting in 2020, there are some that are fiercely loyal to this event – and have been so for quite some time.

“Operation Shore Patrol being the fall stewardship event for the PNW4WDA and hundreds of 4-wheel drive enthusiasts will head to the beach on the 16th of September to clean the beach,” she said.

It turns out, Washington coast's version of the SOLVE Beach Cleanup apparently predated Oregon coast efforts. Help Scour the Oregon Coast of Litter, Debris Sept. 16 with SOLVE Cleanup Event

“Years before the International Coastal Cleanup became official in 1986, the Pacific Northwest 4 Wheel Drive Association started their own cleanup,” Juran told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “Operation Shore Patrol, the group's fall stewardship cleanup event, originated in 1971 along Ocean Shores, Westport and Long Beach Peninsula beaches. With over 50 years of cleanup experience, the PNW4WDA is the originator of a fall organized cleanup on Washington's Pacific Coast.”

The check-in for Ocean City is at the Ocean City beach approach. For the Westport and Grayland area, the registration is station is located on the Bonge Ave OBA at the south end Twin Harbors State Park. At Ocean Shores, check in at the Chance Ala Mer registration station to grab supplies before heading out to clean the beach.

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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