Keep Collier Beautiful welcomed 570 volunteers to clean up Collier County’s beaches, canals, and lakes by picking up litter and debris for the 2026 Great American Cleanup.
The event logged over 1,700 volunteer service hours to help clean Collier County’s beaches and waterways. Volunteers collected almost 200 trash bags of litter and debris from 11 public locations, including Barefoot Beach, Clam Pass, and Vanderbilt Beach, and 4 private sites such as Pelican Bay, Airport Rd Canal, and more. In addition to plastic and glass bottles, cigarette buts, and expected debris, volunteers found unusual items such as a lamp, a cat litter box, and vacuum cleaner parts. On average, 3.86 pounds of waste were collected per volunteer.
Among the volunteers who took their valuable time and effort to keep the environment healthy were college, high school, and elementary students from various institutions and clubs. Several Scout Troops, corporate employees, and civic organizations also participated in this event. Collier County residents of all ages and from different walks of life joined to lend their hands for this event, showing the community’s love and care for their homeland.
Keep Collier Beautiful would also like to express its gratitude to all the site captains for helping organize and distribute supplies to the volunteers and to all the sponsors and community partners who supported this cleanup event: FDOT, Collier County, City of Naples, Florida Surfn Foundation, Walmart Foundation, Waste Management, Waste Pro, Waste Equip, Cascade, CrowderGulf LLC, Lilly Pulitzer, Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Naples South, Marco Island Area Association of Realtors (MIAAOR), C2 Communications, and EK Consulting.
