A beach cleanup is scheduled for Sunday, June 13, starting at Griffiths-Priday State Park in Copalis Beach.

Twin Harbors Waterkeeper and the Olympia Surfriders have been organizing beach cleanups on the north and south beaches regularly for months.

“This will be our last big cleanup of the spring, and we haven’t cleaned this beach yet,” said Twin Harbors Waterkeeper Lee First. “For the last six months, we’ve been concentrating on collecting yellow ropes and other marine debris.”

Yellow rope is used by oyster growers, and for years locals have been picking up the short sections that sometimes remain after the oysters are harvested.

Volunteers will meet at Griffiths-Priday State Park, which runs north from Benner Road in Copalis Beach, at 10 a.m. There are restrooms and parking available, but no driving is allowed on the beach. The cleanup is scheduled to last to 1 p.m.

“We’ll provide trash collection equipment. Please bring your own gloves, water, snacks, and everything you need to be comfortable outside,” said First. To comply with local COVID-19 protocols, volunteers should wear a mask when they first arrive.

Volunteers are invited to participate in the subsequent “waste audit” at the conclusion of the cleanup, where the collected materials are sorted into piles and counted.

“We’re most interested in counting yellow ropes, plastic bottles, food wrappers, cigarette butts, aquaculture and fishing gear, Styrofoam, and small plastic pieces,” said First. “Sorting and counting these materials helps us understand where the debris comes from and how we can stop it at the source.”

Those who stay for the audit should be masked during sorting.