Volunteers across Kauaʻi can head to two beaches on Sunday as part of a nationwide effort to remove trash left behind from Independence Day celebrations.
The Surfrider Foundation, which is organizing the cleanups, said July 5 typically is the dirtiest day of the year for U.S. beaches because of the large crowds that gather for Fourth of July festivities. This yearʻs efforts come as communities celebrate the nationʻs 250th birthday.
The cleanups on Kauaʻi are set to take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m at Hanalei Pier, hosted by the Princeville at Hanalei Community Association, and at Kumu Camp on Poha Road in Anahola, hosted by PAL Hawaiʻi.
Volunteers also are needed for the following events:
- Back-to-School Bash on July 11 at Kukui Grove Center from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Volunteers are needed to staff the ocean education learning station.
- Anaina Hou Summer Camp Cleanup on July 13 at the Anahola Beach Park, from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
- Community Work Day on July 18 for coastal restoration and beach cleanup at Anahola Beach Preserve with Lovell Foundation, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the north side of Anahola Stream. Lunch will be provided
There also will be a Sustainability Mayoral Candidate Forum with KKCR & Zero Waste on July 29 via ZOOM from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The forum will include topics such as the landfill crisis, the new landfill, waste diversion, and other environmental and sustainability issues facing Kauaʻi.
The annual Koʻolau Limu Festival, a family-friendly event celebrating the ocean’s abundance and the cultural legacy of native Hawaiian seaweed, will take place at Anahola Beach Park on August 15. It features interactive limu tastings, lei-making workshops, cultural demonstrations, live music and hula.
For those interested in volunteering with Surfrider Kaua‘i? Sign up here.
Last year, the Surfrider Foundation’s Kauaʻi Chapter carried out its seventh Operation Airlift, a helicopter-led effort to clear abandoned fishing nets and plastics from Kauaʻi’s most remote and rugged coastlines.
During nine Net Patrol missions from May to July 2025, volunteers collected 36 “super sacks” —each weighing about 250 pounds—filled with abandoned nets and marine debris along the south of Moloaʻa.
Nine thousand pounds of marine debris also were cleared from the coastline.
In 2024, Surfrider Kauai Chapter, in partnership with Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund and Hawaii Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research and its volunteers, reported that more than 162,902 pounds of marine debris and trash were removed from Kauaʻi’s beaches and rocky coastline.
