A toilet seat was the weirdest thing found during this year’s “hugely successful” Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC) Earth Day Cleanup, at least according to Mandi Johnson, the center’s outreach coordinator. 

“We get a lot of weird, funny toys,” she said. “Two years ago, we found a fake human skeleton, which was really fun. The toilet seat was definitely the funniest one this year.” 

Over 100 volunteers participated in the effort, collecting 1,900 pounds of marine debris; that, as of 2018, is more than an average person throws away in a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

The cleanup was held with Washington CoastSavers, an alliance working to clean the state’s beaches, and sponsored by The Keg and I, the Port Townsend Food Co-op and Olympic Disposal. 

Johnson was stationed at Fort Worden - one of three volunteer check-in stations, including Chimacum Farm Stand and Shine Tidelands State Park - and handed out gloves, grabbers and empty dog food bags to hold collected trash. 

“It was a really nice day,” she said. “It wasn't too windy or rainy, and generally, people were really stoked to be there and to be a part of this really big thing.”

Volunteers spent two to five hours collecting debris, returning to weigh their bounty at their check-in stations with luggage scales. 

Olympic Disposal disposed of the debris free of charge and provided the total weight collected at the end of the day. 

Johnson said trash ends up in the water for a wide variety of reasons.

“Let’s say we have lots of debris along the roadsides; that debris is going to collect all summer, we are going to have a big rain and all that water ends up in the bay,” she said. “There is some degree of dumping or people not being cautious with trash, and then we find a lot of aquaculture or stuff that’s coming from oyster farms or further out like buoys or fishing lines.”

She continued, saying that cleaning up marine debris, or any trash for that matter, can give people a greater sense of place and appreciation for their communities. 

“You kind of get reconnected with the fact that this environment belongs to all of us and we all have a role in taking care of it,” she said. “We all produce debris in one way or another.” 

Cleanups like the one on Earth Day fit within the PTMSC’s mission to conserve and encourage the community to take care of the Salish Sea.

Johnson and the PTMSC will host another beach cleanup in September for International Coastal Cleanup Day but encourage everyone to help keep the beaches clean year-round.