Fake ivy, Christmas lights and part of a car door have littered coastal beaches in recent years, leaving curious hikers wondering where it all originates.

The cleanup efforts of hundreds of volunteers this weekend may tell local researchers a little more about the litter.

“What we’re really aiming for is to understand where trash comes from,” Bob Steelquist, education coordinator for the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in Port Angeles, said Thursday.

Steelquist and others at the sanctuary are compiling data on the garbage that is found on beaches along the Clallam and Jefferson county shorelines to help them understand the dangers trash poses to coastal habitats.

The data are organized into eight categories by type of trash, then is translated into graphs and posters used for teaching about marine pollution, a topic that has generated a lot of interest over the years, Steelquist said.

The sanctuary coordinates its efforts with an annual volunteer coastal cleanup along 63 miles of Olympic National Park beach.

The weekend cleanup, which coincides with Earth Day on Monday and is now in its third year, has yielded more than 29 tons of debris.

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