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www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
“We’ve had about 30 cleanups since
the Wrightsville chapter started,” says
Nathan who began SUP Cleanup with
his wife, Catherine Nathan, in March
2009. He says they fill full-sized dumpsters
with garbage and debris, anything
from aluminum cans and plastic bottles
to toothbrushes.
While it began in Wrightsville, SUP
Cleanup is now a worldwide organization
with more than 26 chapters in areas like
Australia, the United States and Dubai.
Chapters focus on recruiting as many
people as possible and host cleanups
every month. Similar organizations, like
Keep America Beautiful, share Nathans’
fierce passion and goal of reducing the
garbage in the world’s oceans.
The most common items picked
up in Keep America Beautiful and SUP
Cleanup beach sweeps are cigarette
butts, food wrappers, bottle caps and
beverage cans. Last year, 747 volunteers
participated in the Big Sweep cleanup
covering six different locations in New
Hanover County, collecting 6,060
pounds of litter. O’Keefe also stresses
the importance of roadside cleanups. In
a recent outing, one volunteer collected
85 pounds of trash in just one hour.
“In a county like ours that is surrounded
by water, it’s easy for things to
get washed into the ocean regardless of
where it was originally left,” says O’Keefe
who also serves as the Environmental
Education Program Coordinator at Airlie
Gardens. She encourages everyone
interested in keeping the beaches beautiful
to learn more by participating in
all future beach sweeps and having fun
while doing it—something SUP Cleanup
founder Nathan can definitely attest to.
“Cleanups are a good time and people
make good friends,” Nathan says.
“It is a great way to get the community
together and teach people about the
ocean and how we can keep it clean.”
Information about September’s SUPsponsored
day can be found on
www.supcleanup.com. — Sara Leary