Beach Sweep / River Sweep, organized by S.C. Sea Grant Consortium in partnership with S.C. Department of Natural Resources, is the largest one-day litter cleanup of South Carolina’s beaches and waterways.   On Saturday September 21, 2013, thousands of South Carolinians will volunteer to clear trash from our beaches, rivers, lakes, marshes and swamps. In 2012, more than 4,125 volunteers statewide cleaned up 20 tons of debris from 135 locations.  In Beaufort County, 355 volunteers hosted 15 of those locations collecting 1,365 lbs of material from 21 miles.

Beach Sweep/River Sweep has been an annual event for South Carolina since 1988. It’s held in conjunction with The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, which involves more than 560,000 volunteers in 97 countries.

Anyone can participate, including businesses, civic clubs, recreation clubs, individuals, families, school groups, church groups and youth groups. Volunteers may select any river, lake, swamp, beach, creek or marsh area they wish to clean. Volunteer site captains lead a local cleanup effort, large or small, and recruit volunteers to help pick up the trash. For a list of coastal site captains and cleanup locations, visit www.scseagrant.org.

Keep Beaufort County Beautiful will assist anyone interested with registration or selection of a cleanup area.  For more information, please call site captains Carol Murphy or Beth Lewis at 843-255-2734 or cmurphy@bcgov.net.