Submitted by the Environmental Stewardship Department

The Great Islands Clean-up is back in person! Come join your fellow islanders for the 2022 Spring Great Islands Clean-up on Saturday, April 23 between 10 a.m – 2 p.m.

This year’s theme, All Hands on Deck, celebrates our collaborative efforts as a community to keep our oceans and roads litter-free. During this event, participants of all ages can sign-up to collect trash on a designated beach or road, and then bring their trash to the 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 2:30 p.m. There will be an after-party at San Juan Island Brewing Co. starting at 3 p.m., with music by River Rye Bluegrass, $1 beers for clean-up participants, a raffle, and the presentation of the Stewardship Network’s Good Steward Awards. If you’d like to be assigned a road ahead of time, contact Katherine at katherine@sanjuans.org for beaches and Tina at kristinamargareta40@gmail.com for roads.

“Plastic pollution in our oceans is having a devastating impact on marine life and human health. The Great Islands Clean-up is a good opportunity for our community to join together and address this global issue,” 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 #GICU2022 or send them to katief@sanjuanco.com.