Volunteers hauled several tons of debris from the Island’s shores and coastal waters, targeting 31 spots around Bermuda, in the latest Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) cleanup initiative.

The group partnered with EY Bermuda, a member firm of Ernst & Young global, bringing 484 volunteers out from schools, neighbourhoods and businesses — with 181 students chipping in.

Yesterday, KBB executive director Anne Hyde said the haul from the September 20 collection had been tallied at more than 9,000lbs — roughly four tons of trash, including a weather instrument, a medical IV bag and a dozen octopus pot traps.

The date was set by the US based global group Ocean Conservancy for a worldwide cleanup with more than 90 other countries taking part.

Participants were asked to tally up different types of litter. The cleanup was launched from EY’s offices on Bermudiana Road.

Jessel Mendes of EY applauded the initiative, adding: “KBB is supporting vital research that will hopefully lead to a better understanding of how marine debris is impacting the island.”

Waste collection teams were supplied by the Departments of Parks, and Works and Engineering.

The wide range of items indicated Bermuda’s proximity to the North Atlantic gyre, a spinning series of currents including the Gulf Stream which carries debris from around the world to the Island’s shores.

Among the tons of litter were 3,849 small fragments of plastic, 1,522 glass bottles, 612 plastic bottle caps, 249 yards of rope and 196 plastic straws and stirrers.

The data are added to Ocean Conservancy’s Ocean Trash Index, which helps to track down sources of ocean pollution for more effective legislation to combat the problem.