Tybeeisland.com
Tybee Clean Beach, also known as Fight Dirty Tybee, has been keeping our shores clean and pristine for the last decade. It all started in 2015 with founder and president Tim Arnold and his wife. The two would stroll the beach at night, picking up trash as they found.
“We literally bumped into other residents who were doing the same thing. . . and we [suggested], why don’t we do this Sunday night after everybody goes home and do it together?” said Arnold. “That’s really how it started. A dozen of us gathered down by the pier an hour before sunset.”
After the beach sweep, participants would grab a drink and then, through word of mouth, the cleaning crew grew overtime.
“People started bringing their friends and family. School groups got wind of it and started to join us, so we scaled up at that point,” said Arnold.
By 2016, Tybee Clean Beach became an official nonprofit with 501(c)3 status, which allowed them to raise money for equipment. At the sweeps, each participant receives a grabber and a 5-gallon bucket to collect debris. Usually, 25–50 people participate in the biweekly cleanups.
“We prefer that size because it’s more interactive. People can get to know each other,” he said.
Through the years, Tybee Clean Beach has hosted 525 cleanups, amounting to about 18,400 volunteers who have removed as much as 92,000 gallons of trash from Tybee’s beaches. The organization has programs to recycle or repurpose much of the trash they collect.
“We repurpose and save for artwork whatever we can. Broken beach toys, bits of plastic, straws — you name it. We keep it all in a storage unit that the city built for us. . . It’s jam-packed full of stuff. Artists like to pick through it,” said Arnold. “A lot of [the trash], though, we can recycle ourselves. We have our own recycling machines. So Wet Willie’s cups, for example, or polypropylene number five, we clean those up . . . shred them in our shredder, inject them into molds and make things like soap dishes, outdoor shower hooks, switch plates for your lights and outlets, coasters, durable stuff for the house that keeps trash out of the landfills and around for a while.”
In addition to their repurposing and recycling programs, Tybee Clean Beach also facilitates Turtle-friendly Tybee, an initiative that recognizes local businesses for adopting sustainable, eco-friendly practices.
“Turtle-friendly is a way of recognizing and encouraging businesses to jump on board, for example, The Rock House. Who would have thought? They became turtle-friendly and got rid of their straws, plastic bags and styrofoam,” said Arnold.
Turtle-friendly Tybee started off with restaurants, and The City of Tybee collaborated with the nonprofit to offer this program more commercial enterprises on the island. There are currently 14 participating businesses, and Tybee Clean Beach and the city are offering small stipends to offset some of the costs of becoming turtle-friendly to make it more affordable and accessible for local businesses.
This initiative is just one example of the manifold benefits that Tybee Clean Beach has brought to the island since its inception, and Arnold is overjoyed to witness how the organization has transformed over the years.
“I can’t believe 10 years went by. It feels like yesterday. The growth has been great. It’s not hard to sell a beach cleanup. Everybody loves a clean beach. Almost nobody likes trash on the beach — there’s a few trash-holes that do, but other than them, no,” he said. “Kids love this because you give them a grabber and they think it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to them because it’s like a treasure hunt. Our hope is that we can get kids out there picking up.”
To commemorate their ten-year anniversary, Tybee Clean Beach is hosting a special celebration at Tybee Post Theater on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 4–6 p.m. complete with music, a cash bar, catered food from Salt Island Fish and Beer, and a special viewing of a retrospective film recounting the nonprofit’s history.
“It’s really nifty and tells a story that makes you feel good,” said Arnold. “Then we go out and party!”
The celebration is free and open to the public, however, registration is required. Free tickets are available online at The Post’s website.
Arnold encourages anyone interested in getting involved with Tybee Clean Beach to visit them online and attend an upcoming cleanup.
“Yoy don’t have to preregister. You just come, sign in, get a parking pass, grab your gear, go out for an hour, come on back, sort a bit and leave and have dinner,” he said. “We have a lot of programs and we’re always looking for people to help us out. If you want to get involved with beach cleaning, that’s easy, but we also do more than that. Some people like to do different things, so we’re always open to that.”
To learn more about Tybee Clean Beach, visit tybeecleanbeach.org.
“People started bringing their friends and family. School groups got wind of it and started to join us, so we scaled up at that point,” said Arnold.
By 2016, Tybee Clean Beach became an official nonprofit with 501(c)3 status, which allowed them to raise money for equipment. At the sweeps, each participant receives a grabber and a 5-gallon bucket to collect debris. Usually, 25–50 people participate in the biweekly cleanups.
“We prefer that size because it’s more interactive. People can get to know each other,” he said.
Through the years, Tybee Clean Beach has hosted 525 cleanups, amounting to about 18,400 volunteers who have removed as much as 92,000 gallons of trash from Tybee’s beaches. The organization has programs to recycle or repurpose much of the trash they collect.
“We repurpose and save for artwork whatever we can. Broken beach toys, bits of plastic, straws — you name it. We keep it all in a storage unit that the city built for us. . . It’s jam-packed full of stuff. Artists like to pick through it,” said Arnold. “A lot of [the trash], though, we can recycle ourselves. We have our own recycling machines. So Wet Willie’s cups, for example, or polypropylene number five, we clean those up . . . shred them in our shredder, inject them into molds and make things like soap dishes, outdoor shower hooks, switch plates for your lights and outlets, coasters, durable stuff for the house that keeps trash out of the landfills and around for a while.”
In addition to their repurposing and recycling programs, Tybee Clean Beach also facilitates Turtle-friendly Tybee, an initiative that recognizes local businesses for adopting sustainable, eco-friendly practices.
“Turtle-friendly is a way of recognizing and encouraging businesses to jump on board, for example, The Rock House. Who would have thought? They became turtle-friendly and got rid of their straws, plastic bags and styrofoam,” said Arnold.
Turtle-friendly Tybee started off with restaurants, and The City of Tybee collaborated with the nonprofit to offer this program more commercial enterprises on the island. There are currently 14 participating businesses, and Tybee Clean Beach and the city are offering small stipends to offset some of the costs of becoming turtle-friendly to make it more affordable and accessible for local businesses.
This initiative is just one example of the manifold benefits that Tybee Clean Beach has brought to the island since its inception, and Arnold is overjoyed to witness how the organization has transformed over the years.
“I can’t believe 10 years went by. It feels like yesterday. The growth has been great. It’s not hard to sell a beach cleanup. Everybody loves a clean beach. Almost nobody likes trash on the beach — there’s a few trash-holes that do, but other than them, no,” he said. “Kids love this because you give them a grabber and they think it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to them because it’s like a treasure hunt. Our hope is that we can get kids out there picking up.”
To commemorate their ten-year anniversary, Tybee Clean Beach is hosting a special celebration at Tybee Post Theater on Sunday, Sept. 7 from 4–6 p.m. complete with music, a cash bar, catered food from Salt Island Fish and Beer, and a special viewing of a retrospective film recounting the nonprofit’s history.
“It’s really nifty and tells a story that makes you feel good,” said Arnold. “Then we go out and party!”
The celebration is free and open to the public, however, registration is required. Free tickets are available online at The Post’s website.
Arnold encourages anyone interested in getting involved with Tybee Clean Beach to visit them online and attend an upcoming cleanup.
“Yoy don’t have to preregister. You just come, sign in, get a parking pass, grab your gear, go out for an hour, come on back, sort a bit and leave and have dinner,” he said. “We have a lot of programs and we’re always looking for people to help us out. If you want to get involved with beach cleaning, that’s easy, but we also do more than that. Some people like to do different things, so we’re always open to that.”
To learn more about Tybee Clean Beach, visit tybeecleanbeach.org.