PUBLIC LANDS -- Organizers are hoping at least 1,000 volunteers will hit more than 50 beaches April 25 for the annual Washington Coast Cleanup.

The effort will target beaches from Cape Disappointment State Park north to Neah Bay and east along the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Port Townsend.

Last April, more than 1,000 volunteers picked up more than 10 tons of trash off of Washington’s beaches, the Tacoma News-Tribune reports. Since the April event began in 2000, more than 12,000 volunteers have removed more than 350 tons of marine trash.

Online registration is open for volunteers to select a favorite beaches to clean.

This beach cleanup always falls on the Saturday nearest Earth Day. Spring also is a good time to collect the debris that has built up on the state’s beaches throughout the winter months when storms wash it ashore and access can be difficult due to the weather, Schmidt said.

Washington CoastSavers is an alliance of partners and volunteers working to keeping the state’s beaches clean of marine debris. Some groups have been conducting cleanups since 1971. Founding members of CoastSavers include representatives from the Lions Club International, Discover Your Northwest, Grass Roots Garbage Gang, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park and Washington State Parks.

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