Tigertail Beach Participates in the International Coastal Clean-up

The International Coastal Clean-up was initiated 40 years ago by two women in Texas working for the Center for Environmental Education, the precursor of the Ocean Conservancy. In the 1986 inaugural event, 2,800 volunteers collected 124 tons of trash along the Gulf Coast. From there the event has grown to include 25 states and multiple countries, resulting in 20 million volunteers and 405 million pounds of trash retrieved from beaches and rivers worldwide.

Tigertail Beach on Marco Island is one of several areas in Collier County participating in this effort, hosted by Friends of Tigertail with support from the county and Keep Collier Beautiful. Always held on the third Saturday in September, this year's event on September 19 was attended by 66 volunteers who collected 144 pounds of trash from the park and Sand Dollar Spit, with students from three area schools making up half of the volunteer roster. Notably, there were fewer cigarette butts, plastic bags, and straws, though the number of glass and plastic bottles and metal beverage cans was high. Friends of Tigertail is grateful for the enthusiastic hard work of the volunteers, who truly make a difference in keeping the beach clean.