Delaware volunteers remove 3,800 pounds of trash during annual coastal cleanup

More than 1,200 volunteers participated in the 39th annual Delaware Coastal Cleanup, removing approximately 3,800 pounds of trash from shorelines, wetlands, and waterways. The effort resulted in the collection of about 21,000 individual items, with cigarette butts, food wrappers, and bottle caps identified as the most common pieces of debris. Larger items, including a grill and construction materials, were also recovered.

Organizers from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) decided to advance the event by one week to avoid a scheduled nor’easter. This decision prevented thousands of pieces of litter from being washed further into the coastal environment by storm surges and flooding.

The data collected during the event is shared with the International Ocean Conservancy’s Coastal Cleanup database to help track global trends in marine debris and inform state-level efforts to reduce litter.