The annual Great American Cleanup provides an opportunity for Collier County neighbors who have never met to find themselves side by side on a canal bank or at a beach access point, pulling debris out of the places they love most. This year, the cleanup event is happening on Saturday, March 28, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Keep Collier Beautiful (KCB) invites you to join us at select beaches, canals, and waterways across Collier County for the Bay Days – Great American Cleanup. Registration is free at www.keepcollierbeautiful.com/great-american-cleanup.
Why This Cleanup Matters More Than You Think
It might be tempting to think, “How much difference can a few hours really make?” Let the numbers answer that.
In 2025, KCB volunteers showed up in force — 2,642 strong — contributing 7,926 service hours and hauling away 8,272 pounds of debris from our local waterways and green spaces. That’s not a rounding error. That’s a movement.
And the results are measurable: KCB’s 2025 Community Litter Index, which assessed 156 locations across the county, showed an overall improvement of 2.3% from the previous year. Every bag filled, every cigarette butt picked up, and every piece of fishing line removed from a mangrove root is reflected in that number.
Collier’s Waterways Are Counting on You
Here’s something that might surprise you: according to national research by Keep America Beautiful, more litter is found along waterways than roadways — approximately 25.9 billion pieces along waterways compared to 23.7 billion along roads. That statistic isn’t abstract in Collier County. It’s personal.
Our county is woven together by canals, rivers, and coastal estuaries that ultimately flow into the Gulf of Mexico — and into treasured places like Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, which protects 110,000 acres and encompasses roughly 40% of Collier County’s coastline. Our canals, managed in part through the South Florida Water Management District’s Big Cypress Basin system spanning 123 miles of canals, are engineered to move water. That means they also move floating debris — unless we intercept it first.
What enters our storm drains and canals doesn’t stay there. It travels through our estuary system and into the Gulf, where NOAA has confirmed that plastic has been ingested by more than 700 species of marine wildlife, including the sea turtles and shorebirds our community cherishes.
Every Weird Find Tells a Story
One of the most memorable parts of any cleanup is the “what on earth is that?” moment — the tire in a canal, the lawn chair tangled in mangrove roots, the grocery bag lodged in a storm drain. These finds aren’t just social media gold (though they absolutely are). They’re teaching moments.
Each unusual item tells us something about how litter travels, where it comes from, and what behavior changes can prevent it from ending up in our waterways in the first place. We encourage all volunteers to photograph and share your most surprising finds using #KeepCollierBeautiful and #GreatAmericanCleanup — your posts help educate the whole community.
Bring the Whole Team
The Bay Days – Great American Cleanup is the perfect opportunity to log volunteer service hours, earn community service credit, or simply do something meaningful with your family, coworkers, or civic group. Local teachers: this is hands-on environmental education at its finest.
Pre-registration ensures your site captain is ready with gloves, bags, and supplies. It also helps KCB accurately capture impact data — the volunteer hours, pounds removed, and locations cleaned that fuel our advocacy and community reporting all year long.
Register for free today at www.keepcollierbeautiful.com/great-american-cleanup, or email keepcollierbeautiful2021@gmail.com to inquire about becoming a site captain.
Collier County’s waterways, wildlife, and communities are worth three hours on a Saturday morning. We’ll see you on March 28!
