Keep It Beachy Clean

03/25/2026

🚬 Did you know cigarette butts are NOT biodegradable?

Most cigarette filters are made of plastic (cellulose acetate)—and they can take 10+ years to break down. Instead of disappearing, they break into microplastics that pollute our waterways and harm wildlife.

🐟 Fish, birds, and other animals often mistake cigarette butts for food.
🌊 One small butt can leach toxic chemicals into our water.

What can you do?
✔Always dispose of cigarette butts in a trash can
✔️ Use a pocket ashtray when you’re on the go
✔️ Never toss them on the ground, beach, or into storm drains

Small actions = big impact. Keeping cigarette butts off the ground helps protect our rivers, oceans, and wildlife. 💙🌎

03/07/2026

Are you interested in learning more about opportunities with CVW? RSVP to one or more of the following Volunteer Information Sessions:

Wednesday, March 4th, 6:00 p.m. - Assist our CVW team at gatherings and festivals to support outreach efforts and educate others about Clean Virginia Waterways' mission.

Wednesday, March 11th, 6:00pm - Discover more about Clean Virginia Waterways' Keep It Beachy Clean program! Learn how you can help distribute kids' activity sheets, " " menu cards, and other educational materials to restaurants, hotels, and local businesses.

Wednesday, March 18th, 6:00pm - Become a Site Captain! Join us to learn how you can lead waterway cleanups and help collect valuable data.

RSVP at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc2zV2k60ElKyb1Mxrzstm-xrJCnMFX4Dtida0wNgaJcUNnEQ/viewform

03/02/2026

The weather is getting warmer, the daffodils are popping up, and we're sure you're eager to enjoy the ! Remember that you can always play a part in helping green up and our environment, so use that app to report the pieces of trash you find and/or pick up and throw away! You can be a even on your daily walks!

03/02/2026

Balloons are a favorite decoration for events, but until now, the only option for disposal was to throw them away. And releasing is illegal in Virginia! CVW has partnered with Balloon Mission Inc to bring a never-before option to pop-and-drop balloons in designated recycling bins. For every balloon purchased, our mission is to dispose of and re-purpose it responsibly.
Our goal is to 1 million balloons in the next three years by placing 100 specially designed Pop-and-Drop Balloon Collection Bins around Virginia. Be on the lookout for these bins and updates to our program as we collect donations and to place them! Learn more about our balloon recycling where you can find collection locations at https://www.cleanvirginiawaterways.org/balloon-recycling

01/01/2026

This Saturday, January 3rd, join for a Holiday Hangover Beach Cleanup and Ugly Christmas Sweater Exchange! We’ll meet up in front of at 10am and clean the beach and boardwalk area. We’ll supply cleanup supplies such as gloves and grabbers. If you have an ugly sweater you’d like to exchange, hand that in at sign-in for a ticket to grab a new sweater after the cleanup.
Join us after the cleanup for a slice at ChiChos as we warm up and celebrate clean waterways.
Hope to see you there!!

12/19/2025

Happy Holidays to you!!

Happy. Holidays!

Over 133,000 volunteers, partners, and supporters have helped remove more than 5 million pounds of trash (mostly made of plastic) from Virginia’s waterways.

Our statewide balloon litter monitoring research provided the data needed to support Virginia’s balloon release ban and has inspired action across the mid-Atlantic.

Through our Keep It Beachy Clean (KIBC) program, we built and managed 15 Beach Toy Libraries & shared 20,000 Kids’ Activity Sheets to educate families about litter prevention.

Your donations make it all possible—funding cleanups, conducting research, supporting education programs, and giving our volunteers the gear they need to make a difference.

DONATE TODAY at CleanVirginiaWaterways.org/SupportCVW.

12/17/2025

Keep It Beachy Clean is a program of Clean Virginia Waterways. With the continuing rise in plastic production, our work to keep plastic pollution out of Virginia’s waterways is going to continue to be a challenge we are willing to tackle, but we need your help! If you love to spend time in, on or near Virginia’s beautiful waterways, please consider supporting us! Thank you!