By Karisa Arterbury | Project Leader
OBP Create a CleanUp Program Report
From Shore to Sea: Ocean Blue Project’s 2026 Cleanup Highlights
August 2026
Dear Ocean Blue Project Supporters, Volunteers, and Partners,
As we continue through 2026, Ocean Blue Project’s Create a CleanUp community continues to demonstrate what is possible when people come together to protect the places they love.
Since our last report, 54 volunteers have removed more than 4,600 pieces of debris through reported cleanups across the country, from Florida and North Carolina to California and Texas. These efforts build upon Ocean Blue Project’s nationwide work and our lifetime impact of more than 3.5 million pounds of debris removed from waterways and coastal communities.
Every cleanup represents more than pounds removed. Volunteers are identifying pollution sources, engaging people in their communities, protecting wildlife habitat, and inspiring others to become stewards of their local waterways.
Impact at a Glance: Since Our Last Report
From Shore to Sea: Communities Taking Action
In Fort Myers Beach, Florida, an Otis Elevator team brought together volunteers for a community cleanup, removing bottles, cans, discarded bags, children’s water toys, and other debris. The cleanup also became an opportunity to talk with community members about why they were volunteering and share the mission behind their work.
On Broad Beach, Malibu, California, three osteopathic medical students from UC Berkeley connected environmental stewardship with human health while removing cigarette butts, plastic bottles, discarded flip-flops, rubber irrigation tubing, and other debris from the shoreline.
At Kure Beach, North Carolina, UNC Pembroke’s Leadership, Learning & Community team brought six volunteers together to remove debris including plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, bottles, cigarette butts, and broken glass. Their cleanup combined service with team building and demonstrated how universities can help create a culture of environmental stewardship.
And in Port Aransas, Texas, the Booked Up Brujas cleanup crew removed an extraordinary 1,178 pounds of debris. Their team encountered extensive microplastics along the high-tide line as well as tar, cigarette butts, and other shoreline debris. They also saw something especially encouraging: beachgoers stopped to ask questions, learn about Ocean Blue Project, and became inspired to clean up their own surroundings.
These stories demonstrate the ripple effect behind Create a CleanUp. One group taking action can influence an entire community.
Building the Shore to Sea Movement
Throughout 2026, Ocean Blue Project has continued building the foundation for our Shore to Sea CleanUp Tour, expanding community cleanup connections along the East Coast and beyond.
With support from partners, volunteers, businesses, universities, and local leaders, Create a CleanUp is helping communities take ownership of the waterways and coastlines that connect us all.
Each cleanup also provides an opportunity to better understand what is entering our environment. Volunteers continue to document plastic bottles, food packaging, cigarette butts, microplastics, fishing and construction-related materials, and other debris, information that helps connect individual cleanup efforts to the larger challenge of preventing plastic pollution at its source.
The Ocean Blue Project Team Appreciates YOU!
To every volunteer, crew leader, student, business, donor, and partner who has joined us: thank you.
Your work is removing thousands of pounds of debris while building awareness and inspiring others to take action.
Every cleanup matters. Every volunteer matters. And every person who notices plastic pollution because they saw someone else taking action represents another ripple moving outward.
Together, we are protecting wildlife habitat, strengthening coastal communities, and creating a healthier ocean for generations to come.
With gratitude,
Karisa Arterbury
Ocean Blue Project
By Karisa Arterbury | Director of Operations + Development (volunteer)
By Karisa Arterbury | Director of Operations + Development (volunteer)
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