By By Maddy Quon

Copyright postandcourier

Volunteers across South Carolina on Sept. 20 will come together to pick up trash left on beaches, marshes and other waterways.

The Beach Sweep/River Sweep has been an annual effort to clean up the natural environment since 1988. The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium organizes cleanup events on the coast, while the state Department of Natural Resources is leading the inland sweeps. The event is held in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup.

Last year, 3,212 volunteers cleared over 27,000 pounds of debris statewide, according to Susan Ferris Hill, coastal coordinator for the cleanup.

While most of the litter consists of cigarette butts, food wrappers and plastic packaging, Hill said volunteers will also find tires and housing appliances like stoves and washing machines.

“Unfortunately, some people actually drop their debris…both on the coast and inland,” she said. “Just getting all of that nasty stuff out of the environment is a good thing.”

But Hill said she’s noticed a sharp decrease in the number of grocery bags and other plastic bags during the cleanup because multiple municipalities in Charleston County have banned them.

Volunteers will work at more than 20 sites in the Charleston area, including the barrier islands.

James Island resident Edward Evans has led the cleanup effort at Waterfront Park for 25 years. He said he started volunteering to help pick up the trash at the park after seeing how much litter was mixed in the marsh every time he would take his dog to the park to play fetch.

Evans, who has seen firsthand how much trash — mostly plastic, foam and nurdles — accumulates at the park, said he enjoys doing his part to clean it up. He’s confident most of the volunteers enjoy it, too, because he usually has the same group of people coming back every year.