AUGUSTA, Maine – The Maine Coastal Program is sponsoring a week of coastal cleanups this month throughout Maine.

Coastweek 2012 will kick off on Saturday, Sept. 15, in tandem with the International Coastal Cleanup sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy.  From Sept. 15 to 22, thousands of volunteers will clear Maine’s beaches and waterways of debris in one of Maine’s largest volunteer conservation events.

During the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup, nearly 600,000 people picked up more than 9 million pounds of trash along more than 20,000 miles of coastline worldwide.

In 2011, Maine had 2,361 volunteers who cleared 109 miles of beaches and coastal waterways of an estimated 19,082 pounds of trash, for an average of 175 pounds of trash per mile. 

Volunteers are an essential part of the cleanup effort, and so far, there are more than 40 cleanup coordinators for a variety of cleanup locations. Four Maine state parks have coordinators, and other coastal parks are also in need of coordinators for the clean-up.

To learn more about coordinating a cleanup, or finding one to join, go to http://www.mainecoastalprogram.org and click on the “Maine Coastweek” link.

For information, contact Theresa Torrent-Ellis, Maine Coastweek coordinator, at theresa.torrent-ellis@maine.gov or 207-287-2351