HONOLULU, HAWAII – In honor of Ocean Conservancy’s 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup, the Surfrider Foundation’s Oahu Chapter is hosting the Get The Drift & Bag It beach cleanup at Sand Island Beach Park on Saturday morning, September 25th, from 9 am – 11:30 am. Surfrider is partnering with HONBLUE to clean the park and identify sources of debris in an effort to restore Hawaii’s beaches and waterways to their natural state. Participants are advised to meet in the last parking lot and look for the Surfrider and HONBLUE tents. Sign-in starts at 9:00 am, and lunch and prizes will be offered after the cleanup.
“HONBLUE is excited to have this opportunity to partner with Surfrider Oahu as our clients, vendors and employees are all members of the Oahu community. This event gives us all a chance to responsibly give back to the community at large by cleaning up and educating people about our most valuable commodity – beaches,” says Shannon Hines, HONBLUE’s LEED Green Associate Conservation & Sustainability Officer.
The Get The Drift & Bag It beach cleanup is one of Oahu’s largest volunteer efforts to clean local beaches of debris and improve the health of our oceans. Keeping them free of trash will help preserve our biologically rich ecosystems and save endangered creatures like sea turtles, monk seals and sea birds that ingest or become entangled in plastic marine debris. These cleanups also benefit ocean goers, fishermen and visitors to our island as well as preserve the natural beauty of our island community.
Each year, Ocean Conservancy provides a compelling global snapshot of marine debris collected and recorded at more than 6,000 sites all over the world on a single day during the International Coastal Cleanup. During the 2009 International Coastal Cleanup, 498,818 volunteers picked up 7.4 million pounds of marine debris, in 108 countries and locations around the world and 45 US states and the District of Columbia. The majority of the debris is land-based plastic. For more details about Surfrider’s Rise Above Plastics (RAP) Campaign and their monthly beach cleanups, visit www.surfrider.org/oahu.
“We’re stoked to be working with HONBLUE on this beach cleanup,” says Stuart Coleman, Surfrider’s Hawaii coordinator. “Partnering with local companies like HONBLUE on our cleanups, we can share more about Surfrider’s campaigns to protect our coastlines, while also learning about their efforts to be more sustainable.”
HONBLUE is Hawaii’s largest reprographics imaging company. Since 1967 they have offered award winning document reproduction services to Hawaii’s Architects, Developers, Contractors, Lawyers, Ad Agencies, Engineers, and Corporations. HONBLUE provides technologically advanced information systems that facilitate the flow of business data and images. From print and distribute to web based project collaboration, HONBLUE manages the information that builds Hawaii. For more information, go to www.honblue.com.
Ocean Conservancy’s 35-year legacy continues as they translate threats into sound, practical policies that protect our ocean and improve our lives. They recognize that real leadership means real cooperation — between governments, businesses, scientists, policymakers, conservation organizations, and citizen advocates. With increasing help, they’ll continue to create concrete solutions that lead to lasting change — so we can all experience the ocean for generations to come. For more information, go to https://www.oceanconservancy.org
The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and preservation of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 63 chapters around the world. The Oahu Chapter is in its 14th year of activism and has been working on issues of beach access, water quality, coastal preservation, and plastic marine debris. For more information, go to https://www.surfrider.org/oahu
Submitted by Stuart H. Coleman, Hawaii Coordinator, Surfrider Foundation