Hundreds Help Clean Up Erie During 37th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

(YourErie.com) Hundreds of volunteers gathered Saturday for the 37th annual International Coastal Cleanup in Erie.

Volunteers got a first hand look at the amount of trash that ends up in Lake Erie, Presque Isle Bay, and local streams.

One group of volunteers picked up litter from a basin east of Dobbins Landing off of Ore Dock Rd.

One organizer from “Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful” said volunteers picked up more than 600 pounds of trash from the shoreline.

“It’s very important because a lot of the trash is washed down from the streets of the City of Erie, down into the storm drains, down into the bay and/or from boats and other areas. This is sort of a dead zone, if you want to call it that, because it washes up on the shoreline here,” said Fred Siekkinen, enforcement support field operative.

Last year, more than 600 volunteers from 19 sites across Erie County picked up more than 2,000 pounds of trash from the Lake Erie watershed.

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