ADVISORY: FIFA World Cup Miami Host Committee Joins Forces with Ocean Conservancy for the World’s Largest Beach and Waterway Cleanup

MIAMI – The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee is joining forces with Ocean Conservancy to celebrate the organization’s 40th annual International Coastal Cleanup at a flagship event this Saturday at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Volunteers will remove trash before it reaches the ocean, confronting a global plastics crisis that sends more than 11 million metric tons of waste into the ocean each year–more than a garbage truck’s worth of plastics every minute.

Plastic pollution has a disproportionate impact on Miami, as Dade County generates double the amount of trash per capita per day compared with the national average: 10.8lbs of trash per person per day, compared with 5lbs nationally. Last year, 486,000 volunteers worldwide collected more than 7.4 million pounds of trash, including over 1.4 million food wrappers, 1.2 million beverage bottles, and 1.2 million cigarette butts.

Ocean Conservancy knows the power of sport to mobilize people to take action for our ocean. That’s why Ocean Conservancy created Protect Where We Play: to unite fans, athletes, and artists in defense of the ocean that makes it all possible. With support from champions such as WNBA’s Napheesa Collier, NFL’s Kelvin Beachum, MLB’s Brent Suter and two-time Gold-medal Paralympian Ezra Frech, the initiative demonstrates that protecting the ocean also means protecting the future.

This year’s cleanup also contributes vital data to our understanding of the plastics crisis. Using the Clean Swell app, volunteers help build the world’s largest marine debris database, which has fueled policies like plastic bag bans, foam restrictions, and the Florida balloon release ban.

WHO
Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, director of the Florida conservation program at Ocean Conservancy
Allison Schutes, senior director of conservation cleanups at Ocean Conservancy
Rodney Barreto, Co-Chair of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee 
Hundreds of Volunteers

WHAT
ICC volunteers will help protect sensitive habitats and marine life while contributing to cutting-edge plastic pollution research and providing data that fuels policy change.

Timeline:
Breakfast
A short speaking program
Cleanup with all materials – including a t-shirt — provided
Lunch

WHEN
Saturday, September 20, 2025, 9:30AM-12PM ET

WHERE
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park – Area A Crandon Boulevard Key Biscayne, FL 33149
(Free parking is available in Area A alongside the pavilions)

If you would like to RSVP as press for the Miami cleanup or set up an interview with one of Ocean Conservancy’s experts, please contact Roya Fox at rfox@oceanconservancy.org.

Volunteers can register on Eventbrite HERE.

The International Coastal Cleanup media kit with photos, b-roll and data can be found HERE.

You can find a two-pager with toplines from the 2024 ICC data HERE.

You can find the full 2024 ICC report HERE.

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ABOUT OCEAN CONSERVANCY 

Ocean Conservancy is working to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, we create evidence-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it. For more information, visit oceanconservancy.org, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram.  

MEDIA CONTACT
Roya Fox
rfox@oceanconservancy.org