PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Between September and November, nearly 3,000 volunteers scoured the shores of Rhode Island’s rivers, salt marshes and beaches to collect litter.
The volunteers’ efforts were a part of the Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup to not only pick up trash, but also gather data on marine debris.
Save The Bay serves as Rhode Island’s state coordinator for the cleanup project. On Tuesday, the nonprofit shared how much trash was collected in 2025:
- 3,731 glass beverage bottles
- 4,229 beverage cans
- 6,964 plastic bottles
- 7,732 bottle caps
- 9,155 food wrappers
- 10,970 pieces of other plastic waste
- 14,020 small plastic/foam pieces
- 20,908 cigarette butts
In the end, Save The Bay said volunteers picked up 117,396 total pieces of litter. That litter reportedly weighs 15,561 pounds…