The Bio-'Logical' Way to Clean Up Coastline Oil Spills
September 11, 2025
What do you usually do on the third Saturday in September? You may be one of hundreds of thousands of volunteers banding together to tidy local beaches on International Coastal Cleanup* Day. While this usually focuses on trash collection, it is also a good opportunity to think about smarter ways to clean up hydrocarbon contaminated shores and coastal waters.
From major offshore disasters to simple motorboat fuel leaks, oil spills make beaches and shorelines unpleasant—even unusable— for flora, fauna, and humans—which is why speedy and thorough remediation is ideal. While many pathways to remediation exist, taking the more natural route suggested by Bionetix® International makes a lot of sense.
How to Clean Up Oil Spills with the Power of Nature
Incineration and synthetic dispersants are two oil spill cleanup methods that can cause secondary contamination problems. A more logical approach is harnessing the natural ability of microorganisms to consume hydrocarbons. In nature, this may take many years, but bioremediation can speed up the process in a matter of months.
Bionetix® offers several great nature-based hydrocarbon-degrading bioremediation technologies. BIOSURF™ contains natural, biodegradable surfactants that help disperse oil slicks on water and beaches. This makes contaminants more bioavailable to hydrocarbon-eating microorganisms like those in BCP35S™ (formulated for soil and beach applications) and BCP35M™ (formulated for marine and freshwater environments). In multiple trials, such biological treatments have significantly reduced hydrocarbons in a relatively short period of time, a feature that allows for in situ cleanup without introducing harsh chemicals or smoke into sensitive environments.
Get Ready for Coastal Cleanup!
With coastal cleanup in the spotlight, now is a great time to start exploring enhanced approaches to keeping our beaches and waters clean. Harnessing the power of nature with biological treatments makes a lot of sense, whether or not you start doing so on the third Saturday in September or the first Monday in May.
Contact Bionetix® International to learn more about creating a bio- "logical" action plan to keep your shores cleaner!
*International Coastal Cleanup is a registered trademark of Ocean Conservancy.
Keywords: oil spill cleanup, how are oil spills cleaned up, how to remove oil from the beach, what’s the best way to clean up spilled oil, oil spill effects, how to clean up oil spills, Bionetix, bioremediation, International Coastal Cleanup Day, ocean conservation
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