A Star Wars light saber, an apartment door, a fax machine, and yes, even the kitchen sink are among just some of the unusual items found during Beach Sweep/River Sweep, the largest one-day cleanup of the state’s waterways scheduled to take place Saturday, Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. until noon.

The S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) work together to coordinate the statewide event. This year, 38 out of 46 counties, in the Upstate, through the Midlands and to the Lowcountry, have Beach Sweep/River Sweep volunteers cleaning waterways in their communities.

“Our local coordinators, called site captains, have volunteered to lead both land-based and water-based cleanups in a variety of areas from boat landings and other recreational areas, to lakes, rivers, creeks, marshes and beaches,” said Bill Marshall, inland coordinator.

During the past 20 years, South Carolinians and visitors to the state helped remove an average of 50 tons of litter and aquatic debris from our waterways each year. If you would like to take part in this worthwhile effort, contact Bill Marshall, inland coordinator, at (803) 734-9096 or marshallb [at] dnr [dot] sc [dot] gov, or Susan Ferris Hill, coastal coordinator, at (843) 953-2078 or susan [dot] ferris [dot] hill [at] scseagrant [dot] org.

Beach Sweep/River Sweep is held in conjunction with The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, an annual event that takes place on the third Saturday each September. Seventy-five countries, along with all 50 U.S. states and several territories, were involved last year. Anyone can participate—individuals, families, schools, youth groups, civic and conservation clubs or businesses. All necessary supplies are provided. “While we have a lot of areas covered, we still need volunteers, especially for needy locations like marshes, creeks and rivers,” said Susan Ferris, coastal coordinator.

DNR protects and manages South Carolina’s natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state’s natural resources and its people.