Submitted by San Juan County.

San Juan County would like to thank the 301 dedicated volunteers who collected 4,574 pounds of litter on Shaw, Orcas, San Juan, Stuart, Decatur, Sucia, and Lopez Islands during this year’s Spring Great Islands Clean-up. That’s 1,000 pounds more than last April. One hundred fifty-three miles of island roads and beaches are now much cleaner!

The Great Islands Clean Up is a bi-annual event held every Spring and Fall, coordinated by the County’s Department of Environmental Stewardship Solid Waste Program in cooperation with Orcas Recycling Services, Lautenbach Recycling, Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District, San Juan Sanitation, Friends of the San Juans, the Stewardship Network of the San Juans, and many other individuals, business and service group volunteers. It is funded with support from the Washington Department of Ecology’s Community Litter Cleanup Program. Young San Juan Islanders collected microplastics at Jackson Beach.

Visit plasticfreesalishsea.org/adopt-a-beach/ for information about how to adopt a beach and keep up the good work year-round.