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!

12/02/2025

Keep It Beachy Clean is a program of Clean Virginia Waterways that was started in 2015 as part of a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program in Virginia Beach. We had the help of many great partners including the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, Virginia Beach GREEN Committee, VB Convention and Visitor's Bureau, VB Resort Management and others. More than 10 years later, we are still committed to educating beach visitors about Keeping It Beachy Clean using tools such as kids' activity sheets, Beach Toy Libraries, Straw-Free educational materials for restaurants and more! By donating to Clean Virginia Waterways on this Giving Tuesday, you will also be supporting Keep It Beachy Clean and many other wonderful programs. Thank you for your consideration!

🚨 It’s HERE — **GivingTuesday!** 🚨

Join us in the fight for clean water across Virginia. Your donation today helps Clean Virginia Waterways reach our **$25,000 goal** and fuels:
💧 Beach & river cleanups
🧤 Volunteer gear & supplies
📊 Research that drives real change

Together, we can protect Virginia’s rivers, the Chesapeake Bay, and our coastlines.

Give now — your support today matters most:
👉 [https://secure.givelively.org/donate/clean-virginia-waterways-inc](https://secure.givelively.org/donate/clean-virginia-waterways-inc)

11/05/2025

🏖️ Let’s Keep It Beachy Clean, Shadowlawn! 🌊

TONIGHT: We’re excited to join our friends at Clean Virginia Waterways and for the Shadowlawn "Trash Bash" Neighborhood Clean-Up and Social!

Come out for an afternoon of good vibes and clean tides — help clean up the neighborhood, enjoy happy hour, and support cleaner waterways right here in Virginia Beach. 💙

🧤 4–5 PM: Neighborhood Clean-Up (bags & gloves provided!)
🍹 5–7 PM: Happy Hour Social at Shadowlawn Eats
🎁 Free T-shirts for the first 30 volunteers + a 50/50 raffle!

✨ Bonus: Mention “Neighborhood Clean-Up” to your server, and 15% of your tab will go back to Clean Virginia Waterways!

We’ll also be collecting gently used beach toys for our Beach Toy Libraries! Bring some along and help us keep our beaches fun and litter-free.

See you Wednesday for a cleaner, happier Shadowlawn! 🌞

The weather is looking decent (warm but windy) for Wednesday’s rescheduled Shadowlawn Trash Bash!!
Good vibes, clean tides! Join us and our awesome partners at for the Fall 2025 Shadowlawn “Trash Bash” Neighborhood Clean-Up and Social to support clean waterways and Clean Virginia Waterways.

🗓️ When: Wednesday, 11/5, from 4-7 PM
📍 What:
4-5 PM: Neighborhood Clean-Up (Bags & gloves provided!)
5-7 PM: Happy Hour Social at Shadowlawn Eats
The first 30 volunteers get a free T-shirt! Plus, there will be a 50/50 cash prize raffle.

Even better, mention “Neighborhood Clean-Up” to your server, and Shadowlawn Eats will donate 15% of your tab back to Clean Virginia Waterways. Shadowlawn Eats is also collecting gently used beach toys for the Keep It Beachy Clean Beach Toy Libraries.
We can’t wait to see our amazing community there!

10/28/2025

🏖 Help us Keep It Beachy Clean — every Kroger grocery trip makes a difference!

Clean Virginia Waterways is now part of the Kroger Community Rewards Program, which means your everyday shopping can help fund our fun, positive mission to reduce litter on Virginia’s beaches through education, partnerships, and community outreach. 🌊

Here’s how to join:
1️⃣ Log into your Kroger account at kroger.com
2️⃣ Search for Clean Virginia Waterways or use this NPO number: IQ079
3️⃣ Enroll and shop as usual!

Together, we can protect our coastlines, keep our beach towns beautiful, and make clean, healthy beaches a way of life. 💙

🛒 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒔! Clean Virginia Waterways is now part of the Kroger Community Rewards Program!

Every time you shop at Kroger, you can support our mission to keep Virginia’s waterways clean — at no extra cost to you. 🌊

Here’s how to get started:
1️⃣ Log into your Kroger account at kroger.com.
2️⃣ Go to “Community Rewards.”
3️⃣ Search for Clean Virginia Waterways or use our NPO number IQ079.
4️⃣ Click “Enroll.”

Once your card is linked, every grocery trip helps reduce plastic pollution and protect Virginia’s rivers, streams, and coastlines. 💙

Thank you for supporting clean water — one cart at a time!

10/23/2025

Did you know that Keep It Beachy Clean is an award winning program of Clean Virginia Waterways? This litter prevention program was founded in 2015 as part of a Cigarette Litter Prevention Program in Virginia Beach. With the help of many partners, Keep It Beachy Clean became a positive and beachy message with fun wildlife graphics for beach visitors, "Keep It Beachy Clean, Thanks for Not Littering!"
Over the years, we have used many avenues to spread the Keep It Beachy Clean message including Beach Toy Libraries, kids' educational activity sheets, magnets and window clings for hotels and restaurants, Straw-Free Earth Day, trash can stickers, beach cleanups and more!
We are looking forward to expanding this program throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia's Eastern Shore and more!

Help us keep this program going for another 10 years with a recurring donation to Clean Virginia Waterways. Just click the donate button below and help us Keep It Beachy Clean!