When going to the beach, one expects to find a few things – sun, surf, peace and quiet, gorgeous sunsets and spectacular scenery. And here in the Pacific Northwest, the beaches are considered some of the finest in the world.

But there's a problem on the Washington coast that is hurting the beaches, and one Seattle man has come out of retirement to find a solution.

"What we have here is a unique part of the world," he said. "There are headlands that people have to crawl over, rocks. It's difficult, but absolutely gorgeous."

Yes, beaches are unique, gorgeous and pristine – a place unspoiled by humanity. Or is it?

If you take a closer look, you find a lot of people's trash – pop cans, cigarette butts, rope, plastic, styrofoam – you name it!

Five years ago, Jan Klippert took a hike along the Washington shoreline. What he saw then and continues to find on the beaches makes him sick.

Northwest Backroads

Volunteers find plenty to pick up on Washington's beaches.

"We have found military debris, tires… I was amazed at the large amount of litter and marine debris there was along the coast," he said. "A lot of nets, TV tubes, fluorescent tubes… Last year we found a 55-gallon drum of some material... Somebody lost a sneaker."

He is sick enough that instead of relaxing in the golden years of retirement, Jan has a new career, a new spark, a new mission: To clean up one of Washington's most valuable resources.

"In a perfect world, the beaches and shoreline would be as they should be day after day," he said – even on a day when thousands hit the beaches for razor clam digging.

"People should be concerned about the ocean. When they leave, there shouldn't be any debris left from them," he continued.

Instead he finds foil containers and other trash left behind.

What started five years ago with just a few has grown to over 500.

Northwest Backroads

Jan Klippert is sick of the trash he finds on Washington's beaches.

"The beaches are ours and if we're going to enjoy them for our children and our grandchildren, we need to keep them clean," said one of the volunteers. "We can just come to the beach and have a good time and we need to work to keep it clean. That's something that we can do for our community."

As trash continues to wash up on our beaches, the size of Jan's project continues to grow.

The demand is growing for everyone's help – from volunteers to pick up trash to businesses that will fund the effort to all the government agencies required to get the stuff hauled away and disposed of properly.

Jan and his volunteers hope that the momentum and enthusiasm will continue to build each year.

"As Americans we have so many privileges compared to the rest of the world, and we really need to take care of the privileges that we have," said another volunteer.

And maybe, one day the beautiful beaches will return to their original perfection.

The beach cleanup project this year removed more than 24 tons of trash from the beaches of Washington.