Jamaica will join the rest of the world in observing International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD) 2026 on Saturday, September 19 under the theme ‘Away is a Place’.

Spearheaded locally by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), the annual observance engages volunteers in removing garbage such as plastics and Styrofoam from mangroves and shorelines to protect marine life.

Addressing the virtual media launch on Wednesday (July 8), Chief Executive Officer of JET, Dr. Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, invited volunteers to register to participate in this year’s ICCD.

Registration for site coordinators (groups conducting their own clean-up) opened on July 6 and closes on July 27.

JET will host its flagship clean-up at the Palisadoes-Port Royal Protected Area in Kingston. Registration for groups interested in participating will open on August 17 and close on August 28, or earlier if capacity is reached.

Dr. Rodriguez-Moodie said there is growing awareness and involvement in ICCD with more than 76,000 volunteers since 2014.

“This is really important because it shows the care and that people want to be involved. They have removed almost one million pounds of garbage and this is waste that has never actually reached into the marine environment, and this is really important,” she noted.

Last year, 7,986 volunteers collected 77,090 pounds of waste during 170 clean-up activities across all 14 parishes, covering 120.11 miles of coastline.

The largest turnout was at JET’s flagship clean-up at the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track, where more than 565 volunteers collected 5,250 pounds of garbage.

JET has coordinated ICCD in Jamaica since 2008. The event is funded locally by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), with additional support from public and private-sector sponsors.