Annual Coastal Cleanup set to take place October 17

By Toni Miles 

Come Saturday, October 17, organizers of the 2026 Annual Coastal Cleanup hope the shoreline of Long Beach will be packed with volunteers, all on a mission to remove trash and debris from the beachfront.

The program, sponsored each year by Mississippi State University’s Coastal and Marine Extension Program, typically brings volunteers out in full force to clean at multiple public beach and coastal sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including Long Beach.

Registered volunteers receive a free T-shirt and are entered into a raffle to win prizes like an Igloo backpack cooler, an Owala water bottle and a beach blanket.

The coordinated event will include distribution of cleanup supplies, trash data collection sheets, extra water and on-site guidance designated by the Site Captain.

The Annual Mississippi Coastal Cleanup takes place in October each year in Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties in an effort to rid waterways, beaches and bayous of marine debris. Throughout each county there are multiple cleanup sites available for volunteers to help at, ranging from beaches to parks, bayous to harbors. Participants pick up trash while collecting data on what kind of trash is found and how much trash is cleaned up.

This year’s event is set to take place on Saturday, October 17, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Volunteers are asked to bring plenty of sun protection, such as hats and sunglasses and a reliable water bottle. All locations will have extra water provided during the event.  Volunteers who want to help with the effort in Long Beach will gather at 8 a.m. at the Long Beach Harbor, and those who wish to help in Pass Christian will meet next to Shaggy’s in the Pass. The cleanup efforts conclude at 10 a.m.

To register as a volunteer, visit CoastalCleanup.extension.msstate.edu or MSUCoastal.com/coastal-cleanup/.