What are Cleanups Made Of?

Lumber Debris post Sandy at Rocky Point

2012 marked the longest cleanup season we have ever had at Save The Bay - thanks in part to Hurricane Sandy. Our final cleanup, on December 1, was over a month and a half later than we typically host cleanups. It was bitter cold and something was falling from the sky, but we couldn't really tell what! And even on December 1, in the cold, wind and rain/snow/sleet over 100 volunteers came out to help us clean up storm debris from Easton's Beach.

Cleanups are the heart and soul of our volunteer program. More volunteers contribute time to our cleanup program than any other program at the organization. 

Volunteers from as young as 6 and all the way up to their 80's come out to help us ensure our beaches and coastal ways are kept safe, clean, and beautiful for everyone to enjoy. They work when it's freezing cold, rainy, snowy, windy, hot, humid, or sometimes - just right. They come for a half hour, or stay for 2-3. They pick up trash - everything you can possibly imagine - and schlep it, sometimes for quite a distance. They may leave as clean as when they arrived, or with a few scrapes. They come to work with their friends and family, and many times meet new people during the process. And they pick up LOTS of trash. Ridiculous amounts of trash. More trash than you or I could ever imagine making at our homes in a year. 

Volunteers deliver trash at a rainy  cleanup at Goddard Park

This. This is what cleanups are made of. Hardy volunteers who care an awful lot about the work we do!

In 2012 Save The Bay hosted 34 cleanup, engaging 1,505 volunteers and removing 21,441 lbs. of debris from the coastline.  

The cleanups where we picked up the most debris were:
4/14/12 - Field's Point, Providence - STB Earth Day - 2,396 lbs.
4/15/12 - Rocky Point, Warwick - 1,625 lbs.
4/28/12 - Waterplace Park, Providence - With Waterfire - 3,120 lbs.
10/13/12 - Rocky Point Cleanup, Warwick - 1,219 lbs.
11/23/12 - Rocky Point Post Sandy Cleanup, Warwick - 2,364 lbs.
12/1/12 - Easton's Beach Post Sandy Cleanup, Newport - 1,073 lbs.

And the cleanups where we engaged the most volunteers were:
4/14/12 - Field's Point, Providence - STB Earth Day - 166 volunteers
4/15/12 - Rocky Point, Warwick - 113 volunteers
11/12/12 - Barrington Town Beach - 121 volunteers
12/1/12 - Easton's Beach Post Sandy Cleanup, Newport - 110 volunteers

How does this compare to previous years?

# volunteers is up 32% from 2011 (we offered only 30 cleanups in 2011)

% of debris was up 5% from 2011 (again, we had more cleanups and the cleanups after hurricane Sandy)

 7 Year Cleanup Leader Marc at Rocky Point

Thank you to everyone who participated in a cleanup during the 2012 season. The 2013 cleanups for Earth Day are now listed on our site. Please take a moment to check out the schedule and see if you can join us. We are also recruiting new cleanup leaders for this season - as our numbers of leaders have dwindled. Please consider supporting the program by helping us to host and lead a couple of cleanups throughout the 2013 season! We'd love to have you on our team!

And don't forget to visit Keep RI Clean to join other groups in the area who are also hosting cleanups!