Isle volunteers
to clean beaches

Hawaii residents will join with thousands of volunteers around the world tomorrow in picking up trash on local beaches as part of the 20th International Coastal Cleanup.

TO JOIN For more information about "Get the Drift and Bag It" cleanups tomorrow, visit www.CoastalCleanup.org or contact county coordinators: » Oahu, 33 sites: Christine Woolaway at 956-2872 or woolaway@hawaii.edu » Big Island, 27 sites: Terry Miura at 961-8695 » Maui, 23 sites: Jan Dapitan at 877-2524 » Kauai, four sites: Adam Asquith at 635-8290

Last year, Hawaii's "Get the Drift and Bag It" beach cleanups involved almost 2,500 volunteers, covered 100 miles and collected 1,317,763 debris items weighing almost 55,000 pounds, according to event information officer Lori Arizumi.

In addition, more than 100 divers removed 797 pounds of debris from four miles of underwater area.

"It's a really good feeling, not only doing something that contributes to better health for the ocean and the environment, but also knowing that you're doing this alongside both your own neighbors and people around the world. It's really powerful," said Seba Sheavly, director of the cleanup for the Ocean Conservancy.

The conservancy, a nonprofit organization that promotes caring for the world's oceans, studies what kinds of trash beach-cleaners pick up to learn more about the global marine debris problem.

Hawaii state coordinator Chris Woolaway emphasized that changing human behavior is the best prevention, since human fingerprints are on every piece of trash found in the ocean.

"Making sure people act responsibly is the crucial component, and not just during cleanups, but year-round, too," she said. "Changing our behavior is the key to solving pollution problems that plague the world's oceans and waterways."

The cleanup is coordinated internationally by the Ocean Conservancy and is supported locally by A&B Foundation, Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, U.S. Coast Guard District 14, Ecocaribe A.C., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries division, and the state Coastal Zone Management Program.

After people collect and catalog beach trash tomorrow, the Windward Ahupua'a Alliance will accept any HI-5 redeemable beverage containers off the hands of volunteers. The nonprofit group will collect cans and bottles on Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua, across from the Model Airplane Field.