Islanders care about preserving the beauty of the San Juans.

Every spring and fall, citizens from Lopez, Orcas, San Juan and Shaw islands gather garbage left in public beaches and along roadsides. The springtime pick-up was held on Saturday, April 20.

More than 400 volunteers participated in the 2018 spring event, picking up more than 6,000 pounds of paper, plastic, glass and cigarette butts from across the islands. This year, organizers hoped to sort through the items that were picked up and separate the garbage from recycling. For more information about the event, visit www.plasticfreesalishsea.org/events.