Plenty of garbage was removed from the area near the main Coral Bay dumpsters during last week’s community cleanup.
CORAL BAY — About 25 residents combed the shorelines and roadways of Coral Bay, removing plastic cups, aluminum cans, glass bottles and more on Thursday morning, October 23, during a community clean up.
The event was sponsored by Coral Bay Community Council and Coral Bay Yacht Club as part of Friends of V.I. National Park’s annual island-wide Coast Weeks Cleanup.
Volunteers met at Skinny Legs at 9 a.m. and then spread both along the shoreline and the roadway past the main dumpster area. Debris was removed from the mangroves lining Coral Bay harbor as well as the ball field, the old bleacher area, the basketball court and along the roadway.
One of the most heavily polluted areas, the mangroves behind and around the main dumpsters was tackled by volunteers as well.
CBCC Environmental Programs Associate Sean Richardson logged volunteer hours during the cleanup which will be counted as “in-kind” donations towards the group’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded Marine Debris Removal Grant.
The majority of funds from the NOAA grant — $60,000 of the $90,000 awarded — will be used to remove derelict vessels from Coral Bay harbor. CBCC will be committing about $50,000 of “in-kind donations” like the volunteer hours logged last week, to the grant.
With the NOAA grant funds, CBCC officials plan to remove about 12 derelict vessels, starting in January. The group is hosting a pre-Request for Proposal meeting with potential marine salvage contractors on Thursday, October 30, at the CBCC office at 10 a.m.
For more information about CBCC and the Marine Debris Removal project, call the CBCC Office at (340) 776-2099.
