Volunteers across Alabama’s coast will have an opportunity to spend a Saturday outdoors while helping protect the environment during the 39th annual Alabama Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 19.

The state’s largest single-day volunteer cleanup event will take place from 8 a.m. to noon in 33 cleanup zones across Baldwin, Mobile and Escambia counties. Organizers are encouraging friends, families and community groups to participate in the effort, which is part of the International Coastal Cleanup, a worldwide effort to remove marine debris from coastal waters.

“This annual event is a testament to what communities can accomplish when they come together to take care for the places they love,” said Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Chris Blankenship in the release. “The Alabama Coastal Cleanup demonstrates what state agencies, business, industry and volunteers can do when working together for the benefit of all Alabamians. Without our volunteers and sponsors, this event would not be possible. I am grateful for their generous efforts in keeping our coastal areas beautiful.”

The cleanup is coordinated by ADCNR’s State Lands Division and Alabama People Against a Littered State, or ALPALS. Since 1987, more than 115,000 volunteers have participated in the Alabama Coastal Cleanup, removing 900 tons of marine debris from beaches, roadways, bayous, backwater and other coastal areas.

Volunteers are needed in all 33 cleanup zones. Zone coordinators will provide trash grabbers, large trash bags, recycling bags, gloves and other supplies to participants. A limited number of T-shirts, scout badges and window decals also will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The event will focus not only on removing debris but also on gathering information that can help address the problem. Many of the plastic bottles and aluminum cans collected during the cleanup will be recycled, while volunteers will record the types of debris found in each zone.

The data collected over the years provides insight into the scope of marine debris and helps generate efforts to better understand its causes and identify ways to mitigate the problem in the future.

The 2026 Alabama Coastal Cleanup is supported by Title Sponsor the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Additional sponsors and volunteer organizations include CoastAL, Flora-Bama, Airbus, Bebo’s Express, Ike’s Beach Service, Alabama Power, Baldwin County Solid Waste Authority, City of Gulf Shores, City of Orange Beach, Coast 360, Coastal Conservation Association-Alabama, Compass Media, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, Home Depot, Kommerling USA, LuLu’s, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Riviera Utilities, Rock & Roll Offs, Baldwin County Sewer Service, Ocean Conservancy, Osprey Initiative, Thompson Engineering, Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Alabama Department of Transportation, Alabama Farmers Cooperative, ALFA Insurance, Association of County Commissions of Alabama, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Honda and Vulcan Materials Company.

Information about participation, coastal zones, zone captains, start times and safety tips is available at www.AlabamaCoastalCleanup.com or by calling (251) 621-1216. The Alabama Coastal Cleanup also can be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AlabamaCoastalCleanup.

More information about Alabama PALS is available at www.alpals.org.

ADCNR promotes the wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. More information is available at www.outdooralabama.com.