Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers – also know as Fight Dirty Tybee – was started with a simple premise: get a group of people together that are fiercely determined to clean up Tybee, arm them with grabbers and buckets, and hit the beach frequently – several times a month – to get that trash off the beach. After we remove the trash, we often sort it, count it, and store it until it’s time to reuse, recycle, or make art with what we collect.
Our beach cleanings are intensive. We seek to remove the smallest items that may not be picked up by city employees or infrequent but large scale beach sweeps – things like small bits of plastic, butts, straws, stirrers, Styrofoam pieces, shards of plastic wrappers, band aids, hair ties, and countless other small items are what we typically find. If these items are not removed, they will most likely end up ingested by marine life, be swept out to sea, or become buried deeper into the sand. And since all plastic is toxic, these microplastic bits and butt filters will leach into the wet sand unless removed. That’s why we do frequent ‘deep cleanings’ and focus on the small stuff.
We also sponsor beach cleanings for groups or organizations that want to have a community-based experience while learning first-hand about the types of marine debris found on Tybee’s beaches. This is also an excellent way for students to earn Community Service credits.
And what about Fight Dirty Tybee? Well, we’re the Island’s anti-litter volunteers, playing offense against the over-consumption of single-use plastics. We work to reduce business and personal use of SUPs and replace them with compostable, biodegradable alternatives. It’s the same team playing offense and in the case of beach cleanings, playing defense to keep plastics out of our waterways. Tybee Clean Beach was founded in 2015 and incorporated as a GA non-profit. A year later, frustrated with all that litter, we created Fight Dirty Tybee to address the sources of litter. Same team, same goal.
In April of 2016, Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers was named United Way of Coastal Empire/Hands on Savannah Environment Volunteers of the Year. What an honor! We would also like to thank the City of Tybee Island and the Tybee Marine Science Center for their support and partnership in cleaning up Tybee one bucket at a time.
We invite you to join us in restoring the beauty of Tybee’s beaches by contacting us today. For more information, or to join or schedule a beach cleaning, send an email to [email protected].
Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers is a registered GA non-profit corporation, and all contributions are tax exempt under IRS Section 501(c)3.
You can show your support for clean beaches by securely donating via PayPal here:
Did you know Tybee Clean Beach has earned the highest level – Platinum Seal of Transparency from Guidestar? Check us out here: LEARN MORE