Sponsors (5)
The bill mobilizes volunteers to remove large amounts of coastal debris and creates a powerful dataset that aids research and policy, but relies on cleanup-focused approaches that can divert attention and resources from upstream solutions and carries costs and data-quality risks that must be managed.
Researchers and policymakers gain access to a very large, standardized dataset (420M+ items) from ICC activities, improving the evidence base for scientific studies and policy decisions.
Coastal communities and volunteers see substantial local reductions in marine debris through ICC cleanups, removing millions of pounds of trash (e.g., ~7.5M lbs in 2024), improving local coastal environments and recreation.
Nonprofits and state/local governments obtain validated, peer‑reviewed evidence and long‑term trend data to support funding requests and programs addressing single‑use plastics.
Policymakers and environmental advocates may be distracted by cleanup activities that do not address upstream causes of plastic pollution (e.g., producer responsibility or product design), leaving root problems unresolved.
Local governments and nonprofits face costs to scale and coordinate large volunteer cleanups (staff time, logistics), which can strain budgets and resources.
Researchers and policymakers risk misinterpretation if volunteer‑collected data have sampling gaps or biases, which could mislead decisions unless data limitations are carefully managed.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Formally recognizes the history, scale, and impacts of the International Coastal Cleanup and its volunteer data contributions to science and awareness.
Official title: Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the International Coastal Cleanup.
Introduced January 27, 2026 by Christopher Van Hollen · Last progress January 27, 2026
Recognizes the history, scale, and effects of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), noting its start in 1986 and growth to involve millions of volunteers and hundreds of millions of pounds of collected trash across many countries and U.S. states. Highlights the ICC’s large standardized database of ocean-trash items, its contribution to scientific research, the predominance of single‑use plastics in collected debris, and its role in raising public awareness about ocean plastic pollution (including the ICC’s 40th anniversary in September 2025).