Utila Island Cleanups is a grassroots organization based in Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras, motivated to remove as much garbage from our beaches as we can and find solutions to dispose of this garbage responsibly and sustainably while creating environmental awareness.
We made a huge impact in Q1 of 2026 and are really excited for Q2! So far this year, we have removed over 2,000KG of trash (including over 13,000 plastic bottles!) with the help of 100+ volunteers.
Our efforts are 100% volunteer-driven, and together we are working tirelessly to clean up as many beaches as possible and ship our garbage off the island.
‼️Where does all the garbage that we collect end up?
We are very excited to announce that we have partnered with Recycle Honduras, in San Pedro Sula, a facility that has the capacity to receive our garbage, sort it, shred it, and process it to become an alternative fuel (CDR - waste-derived fuels). This, however, comes with a high cost, as our garbage needs to be shipped off from our island to Mainland Honduras by boat and truck.
Our 2026 Q2 funding consists of:
- 1st milestone: shipping off 4014lbs (1824kg) of garbage collected so far, to be processed into fuel. Goal: $2,000 - due April 20th
- Continuing with weekly cleanups (every Wednesday).
- The legal formation of a non-profit. Goal: $3,000
- Monthly cleanups at Raggedy Cay in partnership with Kanahau Research Facility (Raggedy Cay is a bird sanctuary severely impacted by ocean pollution). Goal: $600
- Other costs (Goal: $2,000)
- Materials
- Transportation (both for land and boat access cleanups)
- Fuel
- Captains' pay (remote access areas)
- Transportation of garbage to storage facility and freight
- and many other costs associated with organizing large-scale cleanups regularly
The amount of garbage we find seems to be infinite, but we are hopeful that over time, our impact on this tiny island continues to be huge.
No donation is too small: every dollar counts, and every donation means there will be less garbage on our shores.
Thank you in advance for helping us with anything you can: donations, materials, or sharing this link so it can reach more people and our impact continues to grow.
Thank you,
The Utila Island Cleanups team
Sabina, Elmer, and Mariam