Trash collected from Sugar Beach during global cleanup event
Nearly 500 cigarette butts and over 300 plastic or foam fragments were picked up from Sugar Beach on Saturday during the annual Hands Across the Sand global cleanup event.
Maui Chapter’s Surfrider Foundation hosted a beach cleanup where dozens of local residents and visitors volunteered and filled a large dumpster in less than three hours with trash that was strewn along the beach in Kihei.
“We are grateful to the volunteers and Surfrider Foundation for cleaning up Sugar Beach and making Maui a better place,” said Timothy Lara of Hawaiian Paddle Sports, who sponsored the event. “It’s always eyeopening to see how much trash and debris is left along the shoreline. We are optimistic that events like these will motivate people to act responsibly and help drive environmental policy as well.”
The most common items picked up at Sugar Beach during the cleanup were cigarette butts (494), plastic fragments smaller than a dime (163), foam fragments larger than a dime (120), plastic fragments larger than a dime (103), paper napkins (95), plastic beverage bottles (69), foam fragments smaller than a dime (68), plastic bottle caps and rings (49), glass fragments (47), and plastic food wrappers (47). Larger items such as car parts, tires, and lawn chairs were also found.
The Hands Across the Sand is an annual, global event that took place at over 100 locations around the world on the same day “to embrace clean energy on a local, national and global level,” according to a news release.
To learn more about upcoming Surfrider Maui beach cleanups and other ways to volunteer with the chapter, visit maui.surfrider.org.