Earth Day 2011 Water Bay Cleanup

On April 22, 2011 Coral World staff organized an Earth Day Underwater Cleanup in coordination with Reef Alliance and Ocean Conservancy.  This is the 3rd annual cleanup that Coral World has participated in since the Reef Alliance Day cleanups began in 2009.  This year’s cleanup was once again in Water Bay, St. Thomas.  An assembly of 30 volunteers participated this year.  This included staff from Coral World, Coki Beach Dive Club staff, and individual volunteers.  Two boats were made available for assisting with removal of trash from Coki Beach Dive Club, and local resident Mike Stein.  Previous year’s cleanups have been largely successful and staff and volunteers have removed hundreds of pounds of trash and debris from the bay.  This year was no exception.  The following items were collected and cataloged this year.

 Plastic Bags                        5

Plastic Bottles                    14

Glass Bottles                      47

Aluminum Cans                 26

Clothing/Shoes                   7

Cups, Utensils, etc.            7

Food Containers                 2

Buoys                                  1

Fishing Line                       100 ft

Lures                                   3

Nets                                     1

Light Bulbs                         1

Oil Bottles                          3

Batteries                              4

Building Materials             2

Tires                                    1

Boat Parts                           25

5 Gallon Buckets               3

Line/Rope                           600+ ft

Phone Charger/Dock         1

Hose                                    6 ft

Metal Rings                        3

Cleaning Sponge                2

Engine Cover                     2

Mask                                   2

Snorkel                               1

Paint Scraper                      1

PVC Pipe                            2 ft

Metal Pipe                          3 ft

Plastic Chair                       1

Personal Massager             1

As in past years, the majority of the items collected are related to boat activities along with beverage containers. Several items including tires were evaluated and remained after the cleanup due to the high number of organisms inhabiting them already. Overall, the cleanups have had a positive impact on that area making it harder and harder to find trash. Next year we’ll have to find somewhere else to host a cleanup.