Our beaches are safer and cleaner thanks to this local initiative
Welcome to the beach! We are thrilled you are here to enjoy the sun, surf, and sand. While you are soaking up the good vibes, you might notice something special about our shores: Clean Virginia Waterways’ Keep It Beachy Clean program is dedicated to keeping Virginia Beach safe, beautiful, and free of litter.
Using a positive vibe and some adorable critters, the mission of Keep It Beachy Clean is to connect with visitors about protecting our beaches, ocean, and bay. You will see their friendly motto, “Thanks for keeping it beachy clean!” on colorful stickers, magnets, and kids’ activity sheets all around town.
At the heart of this effort is a simple truth: “Protect what you love – clean beaches protect our wildlife, our waters and our future.”
Share the Fun: Beach Toy Recycling
Did you know that plastic beach toys are some of the most common items left behind in the summertime? To fix this, Keep It Beachy Clean teamed up with partners to set up Beach Toy Recycling boxes around the resort area and other local beaches.
These toy libraries allow kids to grab a bucket or shovel on their way to the water and return it on their way out. It is a fantastic way to teach children about sharing and reusing, all while keeping plastic off our shoreline.
How You Can Keep It Beachy Clean
• Properly dispose of cigarette butts, bottle caps, food wrappers, and other trash.
• Recycle plastic bottles, paper, glass, and aluminum.
• Skip the Straw and Bring a Bottle: Carry a reusable water bottle to stay hydrated. You will find several water fountains and refill stations around the oceanfront, which helps you save money! When ordering a drink, simply ask to skip the plastic straw.
• Bring a Bag: Reusable bags are not just for grocery shopping, but any type of shopping.
• Pick up after your pets. Don’t feed birds or any wildlife.
• Don’t release balloons or sky lanterns. Releasing them creates harmful litter and is illegal in Virginia.
We hope you have an amazing time relaxing on our beautiful shores. Every small choice makes a huge difference. Thanks for keeping it beachy clean!
To learn more about the program and how you can help, visit KeepItBeachyClean.org.
How You Can Keep It Beachy Clean
Trapani shares tricks beyond just picking up after yourself on the beach that further supports their mission.
“Bring your own bag when you are going shopping,” says Trapani. “Reusable bags aren’t just for grocery shopping, but any type of shopping,” especially when you’re doing some shopping around the oceanfront.
“Skip the straw when you can,” she adds. “and carry your own reusable bottle. There are several water fountains and refill areas around the oceanfront, which will ultimately save you money too!” Plastic straws, bottles, bags and other single-use plastics can end up as ugly litter and be dangerous to wildlife.
Many visitors get tempted to feed the birds, but don’t do it! Not only can it get messy, but it also impacts water quality and is bad for the birds.”
Recycle your monofilament fishing line in fishing line recycling containers.
We also ask that beach visitors and locals alike never release balloons or sky lanterns. Both activities are illegal in Virginia and can carry a hefty fine! Check out preventballoonlitter.org for some eco-friendly alternatives. There’s a sea turtle out there that will thank you!
We hope you enjoy your time on our beautiful beaches and thank you for keeping it beachy clean!
Learn more at KeepItBeachyClean.org
