Submitted by San Juan County.

Clean-up on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22. During this event, participants of all ages can sign-up to collect trash on a designated beach or road, and then bring your trash to a central meeting spot to be counted.

On San Juan Island, meet at 10 a.m. at the San Juan Island Brewing Co. parking lot (410 A St., Friday Harbor) to pick up trash collection equipment and receive beach and roadway assignments. Coffee and goodies will be provided by Lautenbach Recycling to fuel your efforts (bring your own coffee cup, please)! Drop-off your collected trash at the same location by 2 p.m.

There will be an after-party at San Juan Island Brewing Co. with music by TFlo, $1 beers for clean-up participants, a raffle, waste trivia with SJI Brewing Co’s Trivia-master Rick, and the presentation of the Stewardship Network’s Good Steward Awards.

“This year, we’re rallying behind the EARTHDAY.org message: Invest in Our Planet, which highlights the importance of dedicating our time, resources, and energy to solving environmental issues,” says Katie Fleming, San Juan County’s Solid Waste Coordinator. “Every little bit helps – hundreds of volunteers collect thousands of pounds of trash during this bi-annual event in the islands each spring and fall.”

Visit plasticfreesalishsea.org/events to see the details for Orcas, Shaw, and Lopez Islands. Tag your clean-up adventures on Facebook and Instagram with #GICU2023 or send them to katief@sanjuanco.com.

The Great Islands Clean-up is a bi-annual event held every Spring and Fall, coordinated by the County’s Department of Environmental Stewardship Solid Waste Program in cooperation with Orcas Recycling Services, Lautenbach Recycling, Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District, San Juan Sanitation, Friends of the San Juans, the Stewardship Network of the San Juans, and many other individuals, business and service group volunteers. It funded with support from the WA Department of Ecology’s Community Litter Cleanup Program.