By Simon Jones

Hundreds of volunteers were out in force this morning taking part in an Island-wide coastal cleanup.

Close to 500 people descended on 38 locations across Bermuda clearing trash both on and off shore.

The event, which is part of the annual EY Coastal Cleanup in support of Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB), was hailed a huge success by KBB director Anne Hyde.

Ms Hyde told The Royal Gazette she was very pleased with the turnout and praised all volunteers as well as the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Parks Department for their efforts.

“We had around 500 people registered to take part in the cleanup,” she said. “We may have lost a few because of the rain but we also had people signing up this morning to take part too.

“It’s been a tremendous success with a very strong turnout.

“There were school groups from Bermuda College and CedarBridge, social groups, corporate groups, sports clubs and also family groups.

“The EY teams were able to work on three locations during the course of this morning.”

While many of the volunteers were on land, divers from the Royal Bermuda Regiment as well as local dive firms and BIOS also scoured the seabed for rubbish.

Ms Hyde added: “It’s always a guessing game when it comes to the weather in mid-September, but I think most people welcomed the refreshing rain.

“Everyone’s efforts were greatly appreciated.”

Every piece of litter collected is recorded and the data is shared locally and globally. Last year 9,000 pounds of trash was removed during the cleanup.

The initiative is part of a global effort: the annual International Coastal Cleanup, hosted by Ocean Conservancy, that sees people from across the world participating in similar cleanups, on the same day.

In 2014, Ocean Conservancy reported that 91 countries participated and more than 560,000 volunteers picked up over 16 million pounds of trash worldwide.