18th annual Beach Sweep/River Sweep litter cleanup set for Sept. 16 in S.C.

The 18th Annual Beach Sweep/River Sweep will be held from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, Sept. 16. Each year thousands of people participate in the Sweep, South Carolina’s largest one-day litter cleanup of beaches and waterways.
           
The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) organize the statewide event, which is held in conjunction with The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Anyone can participate—individuals, families, schools, youth groups, civic and conservation clubs or businesses. All necessary supplies are provided. Last year nearly 5,000 South Carolinians across the state helped remove 59 tons of litter and aquatic debris from our state's rivers, swamps, beaches, lakes, marshes, and creeks.
           
Participants may serve as site captains or as regular volunteers. Site captains are the on-the-ground organizers of individual cleanup events, and the regular volunteers are those who join a cleanup event being organized by a site captain.

For information on how to volunteer on the coast, contact Sue Schweikart at (843) 727-2078 or e-mail bsrs@scseagrant.org. A list of site captains and cleanup locations on the coast is available at: http://www.scseagrant.org/education.htm.

For information about how to volunteer for inland sweeps, contact Bill Marshall at (803) 734-9096 or e-mail bsrs@dnr.sc.gov. A list of inland site captains and cleanup locations is available at: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/water/envaff/river/BeachSweep/event.html