15th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup Breaks Record for Most Pounds Collected

On Saturday, September 10th, the City of Palm Coast hosted its 15th Annual Intracoastal Waterway Cleanup event with record-breaking results. 

Volunteers began gathering at the Palm Coast Community Center early Saturday morning where they received a free T-shirt, trash bags, and gloves before heading out to collect trash from parks, waterways, trails, and roadways in Palm Coast. 

Since 2008, volunteers participating in the event have collected more than 13.75 tons of material from the environment. This year, 267 volunteers participated in the event and recovered over 1,912 pounds of trash! This is the most amount of trash collected to date from this event with prior years’ total average being 1,457 pounds.

Prior to the event, Florida Inland Navigation District (F.I.N.D.) Commissioner Randall “Randy” Stapleford presented a check for $5,000 to Mayor Alfin, City Manager Denise Bevan, and Environmental Planner Jordan Myers for the waterway clean-up event. These funds, paired with the volunteers from the community, enabled the event to be successful. 

At the close of the event, volunteers were rewarded with prizes for most trash collected and most unique trash find. The winners this year for Most Trash Collected was Girl Scout Troop 2413 with 525 lbs. of trash collected. Palm Coast resident Elisabeth LaTorre won the award for Most Unique F.I.N.D. for recovering a colorful plastic rubber duck toy. 

“I want to thank everyone who came out and participated in this great event,” Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin said. “This is a wonderful event that not only benefits the environment but also brings our residents together for a great cause. It was incredible to be a part of it and I’m so proud of the Palm Coast staff for organizing such a fantastic event.”

For more information on upcoming events in the City of Palm Coast, please visit parksandrec.fun.

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