This Senate resolution honors the 40th anniversary of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). The ICC began in 1986 in Texas and grew into a large volunteer effort in the United States and worldwide. The resolution lists ICC results reported in the bill: nearly 19,000,000 volunteers have removed over 400,000,000 pounds of ocean trash from 155 countries and nearly every State since 1986; in 2024, over 486,000 volunteers collected 7,500,000 pounds globally. The bill says ICC data recorded nearly 140,000,000 trash items and 122,500,000 pounds via the ICC data card or Clean Swell app, and that the ICC database totals over 420,000,000 items. It notes that as of 2025, 43 peer-reviewed papers used ICC data and over 290 have cited it. The resolution states that more than 70 percent of ICC-collected items in the United States have been single-use plastics. The Senate resolution "celebrates 2025 as the 40th anniversary," "supports the goals and ambitions of the International Coastal Cleanup," "encourages the people of the United States to participate," and "highlights the importance of reducing plastic pollution and addressing the problem at its source by producing less plastics." The measure was introduced on January 27, 2026, by Senators Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Blunt Rochester, Heinrich, and Merkley and was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The resolution officially recognizes the ICC’s 40 years of volunteer cleanups and data collection. It encourages people to join ICC activities and highlights reducing plastic pollution. If you are a volunteer, organizer, or community group, the Senate is expressing support for the ICC’s goals and for actions that reduce plastic waste.
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Supporters say the ICC is the largest annual volunteer event in the United States and has helped remove large amounts of ocean trash. They point to the ICC’s long-running citizen science database, its use in peer-reviewed research, and the role of cleanups in building ocean advocates, raising awareness, and preventing harm from plastics already in the environment.
No publicly available information.