Five tons of marine debris was cleaned from Kahoolawe and airlifted to Maui on Wednesday, according to a release. 

Staff from the Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission and volunteers picked up and bagged trash that collects at Kanapou Beach on the eastern side of Kahoolawe. The group has been doing this every three years as the trash continues to wash ashore from the ocean. 

“The trash is ankle deep, so we try to conduct these clean-ups every three years or so to avoid having to stand-up multiple operations,” Margaret Pulver of KIRC said about the trash at Kanapou in the release.  

Pulver said driftwood used to wash ashore at Kanapou, but now it’s only trash: plastics, discarded fishing line, bowling balls, snorkel equipment and more. 

Twenty-three large bags of trash were carried beneath a Windward Aviation helicopter as it flew from Kahoolawe to Maui. 

“The debris that was transported to Maui will be used by Malama Maui Nui, a local nonprofit, to create planter pots, picnic benches and a lego-style brick that can be interlocked to build something larger,” Pulver told Spectrum News Hawaii in an email.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.