YouTubers join forces to remove 30 million pounds of trash from beaches, rivers, and oceans.
On October 29, 2021, Jimmy Donaldson (also known as "MrBeast," with 75 million YouTube subscribers), Mark Rober (with 20 million subscribers), and hundreds of other YouTube creators uploaded videos about cleaning trash out of the ocean. It's part of a global campaign known as #TeamSeas, spearheaded by MrBeast, Rober, and campaign director Matt Fitzgerald. Their goal was simple but undeniably ambitious: raise $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of plastic and trash from beaches, rivers, and oceans around the world.
"Which is just so freaking audacious; this only happens if we all work together," said Rober.
In MrBeast's video, he worked with dozens of volunteers to clean up one of the dirtiest beaches in the world. After four days of picking up trash, they had collected more than 60,000 pounds.
"Even though this 60,000 pounds of trash we picked up might seem impressive, there is sadly way too much trash still in the ocean," said MrBeast, noting that between the ocean washing up trash to the beach and rivers bringing in trash from the mainland, that shoreline will inevitably get dirty again.
"The plastic pollution problem is so big that no single solution will fix it at once. But we've got to start somewhere."
According to #TeamSeas, it's estimated that there are 200 million tons of plastic already circulating in marine environments, with an estimated 11 million tons entering the ocean every year.
MrBeast and Rober introduced the #TeamSeas campaign, presenting it as a way for their viewers to help address this pressing issue that affects all of us. The dynamic duo's #TeamTrees campaign raised $20 million to plant 20 million trees (and counting). They now vow that for every dollar donated to #TeamSeas, a pound of trash will be removed from the ocean.
Half of the money raised goes toward funding volunteer beach cleanups around the world and fishing trash out of the ocean, while the other half will fund the production of trash-eating robots that pick up garbage from rivers that flow into our oceans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The money will be split between two nonprofit organizations: Ocean Conservancy and The Ocean Cleanup.
The #TeamSeas plan for cleaning up 30 million pounds of trash (enough to cover about 85 football fields a foot deep) involves three points of intervention: beaches, rivers, and oceans. On the beach side of things, Ocean Conservancy will send professional crews to clean up some of the most vulnerable beaches around the world. Locally hosted #TeamSeas events will allow campaign supporters to get in on the action, working in tandem with Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup network.
For rivers, #TeamSeas is funding the production of interceptors, river cleanup technology from The Ocean Cleanup that collects trash before it reaches the ocean. Currently, The Ocean Cleanup has focused its efforts on removing trash from the 1 percent of rivers that contribute to 80 percent of the trash that flows into the ocean from rivers. In the ocean, #TeamSeas is working with Ocean Conservancy's Global Ghost Gear Initiative to remove ghost gear (lost, abandoned, or discarded fishing gear).
Cleaning up our oceans isn't the solution to all our climate issues, but it's a start. And the content produced as part of the #TeamSeas campaign stands to spark new generations of ocean advocates.
On January 1, 2022, #TeamSeas achieved its $30 million goal, with 30,249,948 pounds of trash removed. MrBeast and Rober personally pledged $100,011 and $100,010 to the campaign, respectively. Susan Wojcicki (CEO of YouTube), YouTube Originals, and Patreon are also among the top donations so far.
Even though the campaign officially ended on January 1, 2022, the money raised will fund cleanup work for the next three years. During that time, the #TeamSeas website will remain active for anyone who wants to donate.
To learn more about #TeamSeas, visit teamseas.org. To learn more about Ocean Conservancy, visit oceanconservancy.org. To learn more about The Ocean Cleanup, visit theoceancleanup.com.
Originally published in Beach Happy Magazine, Issue 7 (Winter 2022). Story by Abigail Abesamis Demarest.
