The Alabama Coastal Cleanup, the state’s largest one-day volunteer coastal cleanup event, returns for its 37th year on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Municipalities, residents, visitors, businesses and volunteer groups will gather to pick up trash and recycle at one of 30 cleanup zone locations. The event runs from 8 a.m. until noon, rain or shine.

During the 36 years of the Alabama Coastal Cleanup, 110,448 volunteers have participated in cleaning 6,939 miles of Alabama coastline and have removed 1,779,911 pounds of litter and debris from beaches, roadways, bayous, bays and other coastal areas. In addition to the litter cleanup, the Alabama Coastal Cleanup will again focus on the recycling of plastic bottles and aluminum cans during the 2024 cleanup effort.

Each year, the Alabama Coastal Cleanup brings together thousands of volunteers working across southern Alabama to clean valuable coastal areas. Volunteers are welcome to join zones in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The coordinators provide trash grabbers, large trash bags, recycling logo bags, gloves and other supplies for participants, as well as t-shirts, scout badges and window decals on a first come, first serve basis.

The event is made possible by the support of the 2024 title sponsor, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Flora-Bama, CoastAL/Orange Beach, Ike’s Beach Service, Perdido Beach Resort, Bebo’s Express, Alabama Power Company, Lulu’s, Riviera Utilities, Rock & Roll Offs, AirBus, City of Gulf Shores, City of Orange Beach, Coastal Conservation Association-Alabama, Evonik, Home Depot, Kommerling-USA, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, and Baldwin County Sewer Service, as well as Osprey Initiative, ALDOT, ALFA, Coca-Cola UNITED, Vulcan Materials Company, Alabama Farmer’s Cooperative, Honda America and the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

The Alabama Coastal Cleanup is coordinated by the Alabama Department of Conservation/State Lands/Coastal Section and Alabama People Against a Littered State (PALS). It is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, an international effort to remove marine debris from coastal waters. Alabama joined this effort in 1987.

For more information and to find your zone, go to https://alabamacoastalcleanup.com/. 

If you or your organization are interested in participating, contact the zone captain in the area of your choice for more details, or call (251) 621-1216 or (251) 928-9792 for general information.

Zones listed aa a Boat Zone are areas in which personal watercrafts such as canoes, kayaks, small boats, etc., can assist in the cleanup.