Sponsors (5)
The bill expands community cleanups and builds a large, standardized evidence base that helps research, policy, and local shoreline conditions, but it risks diverting focus from upstream solutions, imposes coordination costs, and requires careful handling of volunteer‑collected data to avoid misleading conclusions.
Researchers, policymakers, nonprofits, and state/local governments gain access to a large, standardized dataset (420M+ items) and validated evidence (peer‑review citations and long‑term trends) that improves scientific study, policy design, and funding justification on marine debris and single‑use plastics.
Coastal communities and volunteers experience measurable reductions in local marine debris because ICC cleanup events remove large amounts of trash (e.g., 7.5M lbs in 2024), improving shoreline conditions, recreation, and local ecosystem health.
The general public and volunteers see increased awareness and civic engagement because ICC events are accessible to anyone, encouraging broader participation in pollution‑reduction efforts and community stewardship.
Policymakers and environmental advocates face the risk that emphasis on cleanup activities will divert attention and resources from upstream solutions (e.g., product bans, extended producer responsibility) that are necessary to stop plastic pollution at the source.
Researchers and policymakers may be misled if volunteer‑collected data contain sampling biases or omit certain pollution sources, requiring careful interpretation and validation before being used for policy decisions.
Local governments and nonprofits that scale and coordinate large volunteer cleanups incur staff time and logistical costs, which can strain municipal budgets and nonprofit resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Formally recognizes the International Coastal Cleanup’s history, large volunteer effort, data contributions, and role in reducing ocean plastic pollution and supporting research.
Introduced January 27, 2026 by Christopher Van Hollen · Last progress January 27, 2026
Recognizes the history, scale, and impacts of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), noting its origins in 1986 and growth into a global volunteer effort that has removed hundreds of millions of pounds of ocean trash. The resolution highlights volunteer totals, recent cleanup data, the ICC’s large ocean-trash database maintained by Ocean Conservancy, the predominance of single-use plastics in collected debris, and the ICC’s role in public awareness and research.