Hundreds of volunteers took to the island’s coastline this weekend and collected more than five tons of rubbish and debris from Bermuda’s shores.

More than 530 people took part in the EY Coastal Cleanup on Saturday at 31 different locations collecting about 10,000 lbs of trash from the island’s beaches.

The cleanup, which was organised by Keep Bermuda Beautiful, was part of a global initiative to help reduce ocean pollution across the world.

“EY is proud to support KBB in sponsoring this effort and thankful to the hundreds of people who combed our beaches to remove marine debris,” EY partner Jessel Mendes said.

“It’s rewarding to spend this time with colleagues making an immediate difference in maintaining the beauty and safety of our Island.”

This year participants were asked not only to clean up but categorise and tally each piece of litter on a data collection card.

The information from the data cards will be collated by KBB and sent on to Ocean Conservancy’s headquarters in Washington.

Anne Hyde, executive director of KBB, added: “It was a picture-perfect day to spend a few hours with friends and colleagues not only cleaning our shoreline but also documenting the trash.

“This gives a snapshot of the extent of the problem and will help influence policies both locally and globally.”

On Saturday two EY teams with 100 people tackled Dockyard’s Black Bay shoreline along Malabar Road as well as the St George’s areas of Tobacco Bay, Coots Pond and Fort St Catherine.

America’s Cup staff and Endeavour sailors formed three teams to scour the beaches for litter at Builders Bay in St George’s, Chaplin Bay in Warwick and Parson’s Bay in Dockyard. FIL Ltd employees cleaned up the Warwick Long Bay and Jobson’s Cove area while Butterfield & Vallis chose a spot along the rocky North Shore.

More than 80 Saltus students and parents joined forces to clean up John Smith’s Bay, while Bermuda College students took on Church Bay in Southampton.

Hamilton Rotary Club members cleaned up in front of the Royal Hamilton Dinghy Club and Red Hole. The Bermuda Sub-Aqua Club cleaned up Clarence Cove near their headquarters in Admiralty Park, while Dive Bermuda and Bermuda Ocean Explorers removed debris from Grotto Bay.

Bermuda Marine Services loaned their barge to help collect the trash for the day and Joe Vieira Trucking assisted with rubbish removal.