Date: April 18, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact: David Lindau (206) 220-4279

Over 1100 volunteers celebrated Earth Day this year by turning out for the annual Washington Coast Cleanup. Working at beach locations along Washington's entire Pacific coast, volunteers hauled away an estimated 22 tons of plastic water bottles, household trash, lost fishing gear, and other types of marine debris.

"This year's event was a huge success," said David Lindau, Program Coordinator for Washington CoastSavers. "Marine debris is not just ugly. It kills. Birds, fish, whales, and countless other marine organisms ingest or get tangled up in this stuff and die."

"That so many people decided to take action and come all the way out here to clean it up is truly amazing." Lindau added. "No amount of thanks is enough for these volunteers."

"We love doing this every year," said Peter Craig, who volunteered at Ruby
Beach. "My wife Susan and I feel that it's very important to help get rid of
all this trash that washes up. We bring our kids and invite our friends. It
turns into a fun gathering, and it's a great environmental lesson for
everyone."

"It's great that people are becoming aware of marine debris as a global problem," said Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Carol Bernthal. "But it is especially encouraging that more and more people are doing something about it and getting involved at the local level. The efforts of everyone who volunteered today have made an important difference in preserving our coastal ecosystem."

"Here on the Long Beach Peninsula, the April Cleanup is also about community," said Shelly Pollock, lead organizer for the Grass Roots Garbage Gang. "I mean, hey, we live here. The beach is part of our community. We can't just leave all this trash here and pretend it will go away on its own. Cleaning it up is as much about community pride as it is about the environment."

Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin expressed gratitude for the CoastSavers partnership, "We are very thankful for the efforts of each and every volunteer -- this cleanup simply couldn't happen without them, and for the Washington CoastSavers' work to organize and energize this huge and extremely valuable event."

The Washington Coast Cleanup is the biggest annual cleanup on the Washington coast and is organized by the Washington Clean Coast Alliance. Alliance members include Clallam Bay-Sekiu Lions Club, Discover Your Northwest, Grass Roots Garbage Gang, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, Surfrider Foundation, and Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

For more information and to sign up for the Washington Coast Cleanup, visit the Washington CoastSavers website at www.coastsavers.org.

-- www.CoastSavers.org --