MURRELLS INLET – Thousands of people gathered in Murrells Inlet on Saturday, to catch the boat parade and watch the fireworks.

And while the celebrations are welcome, over the years some in the community have expressed their concern about fireworks debris affecting the inlet.

“A lot of the controversy in the past over the fireworks and the boat parade… trash gets in the water,” said Jeff Cuiba, a board member of Murrells Inlet 2020.

One of the main goals of Murrells Inlet 2020 is to keep the area surrounding the salt water marsh clean and the group has pointed to the July 4th weekend as a particular problem.

“We all want to celebrate and have a good time as Americans but the next day we all have to clean up after the party,” said executive director, Renee Williamson.

So volunteers along with members of  the Murrells Inlet 2020 went into the creek and out onto the streets to pick up trash on Sunday.

“We had a bunch of volunteers come out to pitch in and clean it all up after a fun weekend,” said Cuiba.

It was the first time the group teamed up with local businesses on the Marshwalk, the Boat Parade committee and the Georgetown County Rec department for a post-independence day pick up.

“A lot of the restaurants have all pitched in and done their part to try and prevent the trash from coming into the waterways. It’s great, everyone’s working together really well this year,” said Cuiba.

Williamson added that all four members of the partnership took a proactive approach, handing out trash bags to boaters and starting a social media campaign ahead of the festivities.

The hope was making the area look even better than before celebrations began,

“I believe its really important we take care of the marsh and our waterways and i love the fireworks so i’m glad we can all work together,” said volunteer Marcie Jack.

Jack is visiting the Grand Strand from Pittsburg, but wanted to lend her support, along with 30 or so others.

15 year old Ethan Allen was dropped off by his parents,  and he used the time to to enjoy the marsh, while making a difference.

“It’s very calm and relaxing, just to pick up the for a little bit and you know you’re helping so it’s very comforting,” said Allen.

Those who organized Sunday’s clean up say volunteers picked up more than 150lbs of trash.

That’s less than they anticipated but they credit that to the new partnership and a proactive approach heading into the holiday weekend.