Last year, volunteers collected almost 18,000 pounds of debris from 130 miles of coastline, according to Coastsweep, a UMass-Boston group that organizes statewide cleanups. For more information on how to start one in your neighborhood, check www.coastsweep.umb.edu.

Right, volunteers pick up beach trash in Santa Monica, Calif., during the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup.