OGUNQUIT — The Ogunquit Conservation Commission is seeking volunteers on Sept. 20 to join more than 500,000 people around the world for the 26th annual Coastal Cleanup. The event is sponsored by the International Ocean Conservancy and is purported to be the largest volunteer effort in the world.

Organizing volunteers to help keep Ogunquit beaches clean is not a new initiative. Every August for the past nine years, members of Ogunquit’s Conservation Committee rally local volunteers to pick up trash on town beaches during an annual Labor Day weekend cleanup.

“We have over 50,000 people on our beach over Labor Day Weekend. We used to get truckloads of trash on our annual beach cleanup, but since we removed the trashcans on the beach, the amount of trash we collect has declined,” said Ogunquit Conservation Committee Chairman Michael Horn. “It’s now a ”˜carry in, carry out’ beach, and I’d say over 95 percent of the people who visit the beach are respectful; and our beaches are very pristine.”

The beach is so clean that this year the Ogunquit Conservation Commission considered skipping its annual clean up. The town had hired a beach sweeper to clean the length of the beach in the early morning, four times a week. Toward the end of the summer, the commission received reports of trash accumulating near the dunes from the beach sweeper.

“You’re always likely to pick up some stuff on the beach and it has accumulated near the dunes,” said Horn. “How much refuse is there is questionable because we haven’t taken a sampling; but we have had complaints and so we decided to hold our annual clean up on Sept. 20 to coincide with International Coastal Cleanup.”

In Maine, Coastal Cleanup is organized through the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Volunteers do the work and the department records data about the type and volume of trash collected. The data is sent to the Ocean Conservancy database.

According to Theresa Torrent, coordinator for the Maine Coastal Clean Up, Maine was one of the first states to participate in the international event, more than 25 years ago.

“Coastal Cleanup is part of an education effort to prevent trash from entering the waters by working with everyone ”“ from individuals to businesses ”“ to change the behaviors that cause trash to end up in the ocean,” said Torrent.

The effort also helps raise awareness about beach conservation. In 2013, Maine’s Coastal Cleanup coordinator reported that 1,321 volunteers collected 4,519 pounds of trash along 77 miles of coastline.

“In addition to removing trash, in recent years our focus has shifted to the overall use of plastics ”“ beverage containers, grocery bags, plastic toys ”“ and the large environmental impact they’re having in the ocean, ” said Torrent.

Other scheduled cleanups in York County will take place at Parson’s Beach in Wells and at Mother’s Beach in Kennebunk.

In Ogunquit, interested volunteers can join the town manager and commission members at 9:30 a.m. at the Maine Beach Bathhouse. Volunteers will be organized into sectional teams to spruce up the length of the dunes, beach and riverside from the Maine Parking Lot to the Moody Car Park.

“We usually average between 25 and 30 volunteers with some help from the Volunteers for Peace that come from the Wells Reserve. Since the cleanup is later this year, we’re hoping to get more support from the local community,” said Horn.

In addition to the cleanup, Ogunquit plans to take further steps to protect the dunes next spring with the installation of fencing along portions of the dune on the riverside.

“Fencing is vital to curtail pedestrian traffic and reduce refuse on the dunes, actions, which are extremely detrimental to the health and development of the dune system,” said Horn.

“Beyond adding a handsome back-up to the beach, coastal sand dunes are nature’s way of protecting significant river estuaries (such as the Ogunquit River Estuary), which provide essential habitat; breeding and nesting ground for aquatic species, shorebirds and animal wildlife, plus sanctuary for Endangered and Threatened species and plants.”

Participants will receive refreshments and recyclable bags for personal use. For more information about Maine Coastal Cleanup go to www.mainecoastalprogram.org.

— This article appeared previously in Making It At Home. Tracey Collins can be reached via the Journal Tribune at [email protected].