International Coastal Clean Up Day 2017

This year marks the 31^st Annual International Coastal Clean Up Day. Started in 1986 by the Ocean Conservancy, International Coastal Clean Up Day is the largest organized water clean up day in the world. In partnership with volunteer organizations and individuals around the globe, the Ocean Conservancy takes this day to engage “people to remove trash from the world’s beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris and change the behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place.” Nearly 12 million people and counting have been part of the biggest volunteer effort to protect the ocean with 228,919,809 pounds of trash collected in the past 30 years. While that is just the tip of the iceberg, it's something to celebrate!

The Ocean Conservancy doesn’t just organize the clean ups, they collect huge amounts of data from the day and throughout the year, bringing forward some startling facts about the amount of trash in our waterways. Did you know that plastic has been found in 62% of all sea birds and 100% of all sea turtles tested?!  While these numbers are startling, clean up days like this Saturday, are making an impact. In 2016, over 18 million pounds of trash were picked up on International Coastal Clean Up Day and the US alone collected almost 4 million pounds of trash! Take a look what was picked up:

We are not shocked to find that plastic straws and stirrers are the #7 most collected item in the world (#5 in the US). Simply Straws has been and continues to be determined to get plastic straws off that list. Our glass straws have a lifetime warranty, dishwasher safe and perfect for any of your liquid consumption. We make it easy to BYOS (bring your own straw) or just refuse plastic ones and #stopsucking.

This year, Simply Straws is partnering with Plastic Free Bohol in the Philippines for their International Coast Clean Up Day.  The Philippines has the 6^th longest coastline in the world, over 22,000 miles, and is host to the most International Coast Clean Ups worldwide! That’s pretty impressive.  The event starts at 7:30am at Libaong Beach in Panglao, Bohol and all are invited. For more information on the event check out their Facebook page. 

Regardless of where you live, you can participate this Saturday! Just follow these steps to take action:

1: Join your local clean up! For a listing of clean ups near you check out the Ocean Conservancy's listings. 

2: Download the Clean Swell App- whether you are at an official clean up or not, use this app to track what you clean up and add to vital data collection and analysis

3: Join our Coast Clean Up Day photo contest. Post a photo from your clean up day and tag @SimplyStraws and #pledgeagainstplasticstraws to be entered to win a free straw and brush set from Simply Straws. Since this is International Coastal Clean Up Day, the contest is open to all around the globe. 

4: Take the #pledgeagainstplasticstraws- Click here. Renew your pledge or tag a friend and challenge them to do the same.

Here at Simply Straws we believe that while everyday can’t be International Coastal Clean Up Day, each of us can take steps to reduce the amount of plastic and trash that ends up in our oceans daily. Join us and countless others around the globe and #pledgeagainstplasticstraws.