Tens of thousands of Californians turned out on Sept. 17 to take part in the 38th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, the state’s largest annual volunteer event, organized by the California Coastal Commission.
For the past two years the event was limited to self-guided cleanups because of the pandemic, but this year’s cleanup saw more than 600 in-person cleanup sites taking place. Final results from Ventura and Santa Barbara counties were not available at press time.
All the data collected about what people found goes to an international litter database that's used to track marine debris and support research and legislation to reduce plastic
VENTURACOUNTY
Volunteers hauled trash from more than 20 local sites for Ventura County Coastal Cleanup Day.
The annual event, which tidies both coastal and inland waterways, was part of a statewide effort organized by the California Coastal Commission that marked its 38th year over the weekend.
Participants showed up to a dozen coastal sites from the Rincon Parkway to the Ormond Wetlands for the three-hour cleanup. Another nine inland sites focused efforts on waterways from Camarillo, Ventura and Fillmore to Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.
Last year's cleanup in Ventura County brought out more than 2,100 volunteers who cleared more than 19,500 pounds of debris, organizers say.
Ventura Sierra Club has overseen a Santa Clara River Coastal Clean Up day site for over 10 years. “We take out TONS (literally thousands of pounds) of trash that would be washed into the ocean. This year on Sept. 17 a half-ton of debris was collected,” noted organizer Nina Danza.
A participant-voted "Most Unusual Thing Found Contest" resulted in 1st - flattened grill, 2nd - beer keg, 3rd - granite countertop. It also included a guided environmental science tour led by Oxnard College professor Jim Danza. There was 1,081 pounds of trash removed by 45 volunteers over a mile.
Volunteers met in 3 locations to tackle the trash at the Ormond Beach and lagoon areas. Port Hueneme council members Steven Gama and Laura Hernandez escorted 232 volunteers to the lagoon area. Within three hours, 6 dumpsters were filled with collected trash.
SANTA BARBARA
At least 1,305 volunteers showed up for Coastal Cleanup Day at 32 sites throughout the County. They picked up 5,811 pounds of trash and 746 pounds of recyclables for a total of 6,557 pounds or 3.28 tons of waste.
Altogether, they covered an estimated 65 miles at sites ranging from Rincon Beach Park to Guadalupe Dunes. Lydia Ballantine, Coastal Cleanup Day Coordinator for Explore Ecology says, "Keeping trash out of our oceans isn't only a once-a-year event. By 2040, the amount of trash entering our oceans is projected to be nearly triple.”
Throughout the year, you can help out by reducing the amount of plastic you use, choosing reusable, durable options, voting for people who will support our oceans, and advocating for policies that can help reduce plastic pollution at its source.
“We had the most sites ever this year with 32 cleanup locations, and the most volunteers ever who collected more trash than we have in any other year organizing the cleanup, Ballantine said.
Last year's cleanup in Ventura County brought out more than 2,100 volunteers who cleared more than 19,500 pounds of debris, organizers say. Statewide, 74,000 Californians took part, handling more than 800,000 pounds of waste.
~ Compiled by John Hankins
