Volunteers from Bremerton and Port Orchard gathered April 26 for the 36th annual Sinclair Inlet Clean-Up, an event aimed at protecting local shorelines and promoting environmental stewardship.

Will Riley, stormwater program manager for the city of Bremerton Public Works and Utilities, participated in the clean-up for the first time since joining the city staff in January. Riley said about 20 volunteers attended the event and collected roughly 100 pounds of trash, including a large discarded tire, from the shorelines.

“It was definitely a respectable outing,” Riley said. “We had some great conversations, met some great people, and had a pretty good time.”

The clean-up focused on the Port Orchard shoreline along state Route 166 and the Bremerton waterfront, including Navy Yard Highway and several local parks. Volunteers met at the Annapolis Ferry Dock kiosk in Port Orchard and the Bremerton Boardwalk before splitting off to different zones.

Riley, along with an environmental technician, helped distribute supplies such as trash bags, gloves, and refreshments to volunteers. He said the event aligned with the goals of the city’s stormwater program, which works to prevent pollution from entering local waterways.

“The main goal of the cleanup is to pick up trash, but also community engagement,” Riley said. “We want people to understand, ‘Here’s how your pollution affects your city, and here’s how you can help.’”

Although the event did not formally track the weight of the collected debris, Riley said volunteers typically fill a large dumpster each year. He emphasized that success isn’t measured solely by the amount picked up.

“It isn’t necessarily something designed to be successful or unsuccessful,” he said. “Whatever we pick up is always a little dent in the problem.”

Organizers required participants to be at least 13 years old for safety reasons.

Riley said the cities of Bremerton and Port Orchard plan to continue hosting the clean-up biannually, with the next event scheduled for September.