Reclaiming Natural Beauty: Over 1600 Pounds of Trash Cleared by Community Efforts

Last month, over 1600 pounds of trash was removed from natural landscapes across the Virgin Islands, thanks to the University of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.

The two entities collaborated on the Ruth Cay Cleanup on February 23, which brought together 10 volunteers who removed a combined total of 447 pounds of refuse, comprising 809 pieces of debris.

Among the collected garbage, single-use plastic beverage bottles were identified as the predominant pollutant, with 186 bottles retrieved. A noteworthy find was a massive 240-pound industrial rope, an unexpected discovery along the cay's south shore.

The following day, the environmental campaign continued with the 2024 St. Croix Great Mangrove Cleanup, where 29 volunteers, ranging in age from two to 65, tackled the mangrove shoreline in Altona Lagoon. Their efforts yielded a substantial haul of 1,155 pounds of trash and hurricane debris from the mangroves, totaling 2,683 items. Single-use beverage containers – 723 of them – again made up the bulk of the waste, alongside 334 food wrappers and 244 plastic bottle caps. The assortment of trash collected also included more unusual items such as two full-size bathtubs, a washing machine, and a variety of children’s toys.