THIS weekend Bermuda will be participating in the world's largest volunteer effort to clean up the island's marine areas and shorelines.

In partnership with the international organisation Ocean Conservancy, Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) is inviting residents to pick up debris and trash tomorrow and Sunday as part of the 23rd annual International Coastal Cleanup that will be happening tomorrow and Sunday all over the world.

"It's not just Bermuda doing a clean-up on those days," explained Rich Lathan, executive director of KBB.

"Countries from all around the world will be participating in this global movement. One of the things that is important about the event is that we are tied in with the international global conservancy event which takes place around the world on the same day."

According to Ocean Conservancy, the global event's goal is to engage people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, to identify the source of debris and to change the behaviours that cause pollution.

Seventy-six countries from around the world, including Bermuda, participated in the annual event last year with more than six million pounds of trash collected worldwide.

More than 80 volunteers participated here last year with many groups going above and beyond the call of duty.

"One highlight from last year was the Jones family that was lucky enough to obtain a barge for the day and we went out to Paradise Lakes and accomplished a lot. We had the kids from the Northland Primary PRIDE group and the Paget Primary PRIDE group that were out last year and will be out again this year," said Mr. Lathan.

Bermuda's efforts to clean up the island's waterways, including beaches, ponds, creeks and canals actually began two weeks ago with a marine clean up at Elbow Beach.

"The first phase of this year's marine clean up has already started. The folks over at Blue Water Divers had an event at Elbow Beach and did an excellent job under very tough circumstances because the weather was very bad. Only one team out of five was actually able to go in the water because of the weather. Because of that, we focused on cleaning up the beach and they did a really incredible job of taking stuff off the beach," he said.

While KBB encourages people to pick up litter and trash wherever they may be this weekend, the organisation has identified several areas that groups will focus on.

"We have a few spots that we will be looking at," said Mr. Lathan.

"One of them is in the water off Cooper's Island near the nature reserve. Just on the southwestern tip by the reserve are a number of tyres and old go-carts and what looks like parts of a radio console. We are going to make an effort to get that out of the water over the weekend.

"Another area we will be cleaning up is the back of Grace Methodist Church on North Shore in Pembroke. I was amazed at the amount of bottles and litter that are just behind the church on the shore."

As the litter watchdog group on the island, KBB is always on the look out for illegal dumping grounds and areas that collect more trash than others, however, what they have found is that the problem is island wide.

"There is no place in Bermuda that is worse than any other. It's bad all over the island and I think the trash problem is getting worse. We still have major issues with illegal dumping but the casual littering has escalated. For example, we are seeing an increase in the dreaded takeout containers. The plastic and Styrofoam takeout containers are all over the place. It's sad where we are finding those," he said.

To help identify the source of the majority of the debris and be able to determine how Bermuda's trash problem stacks up against other countries, KBB is asking volunteers this weekend to write down what items they pick up and where the litter was found.

"This year we will be giving out cards to the volunteers so they can note down what it is they are picking up. That information will be fed into an international database to see how we compare with other countries. It's not just about picking up trash but also seeing where we stand in terms of what's being found and how that fits into a more global picture," said Mr. Lathan (pictured).

While KBB is encouraging people to help clean up this weekend, the overall message the group is trying to disseminate is plain and simple: don't litter in the first place.

"When you have trash put it in a trash can," said Mr. Lathan.

"It's not hard and it's not rocket science. When you don't have a place to throw it, hold on to it or put it in your pocket until you can find a trash can. It's one thing that we all can do to help keep Bermuda beautiful."

For a list of areas included in this year's Island Wide Marine Clean Up, contact KBB at kbbnorthrock.bm or call 295-5142. Should you already have an area in mind to clean up, contact KBB to deliver supplies and provide logistical support.