Beach Cleanup Day Collects a Ton of Trash

The numbers are in, and this weekend’s California Coastal Cleanup Day resulted in more than a ton – 2,070 pounds, to be exact – of trash and 582 pounds of recyclable materials being picked up by more than 500 volunteers. Participants in the effort cleaned 17 beaches throughout Santa Barbara County over a three-hour period on September 20. Statewide, some 55,000 volunteers removed about 742,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from 750 locations around California.

“We live in an amazing community with people who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and volunteer to make things better,” said Scott McGolpin, director of the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Works. “They did a fantastic job this year and Public Works is proud to be a part of this clean-up effort.”

Begun in 1986 as local efforts at beaches in Texas and Oregon, Coastal Cleanup Day has become an international event with organized cleanups in Canada, Mexico, and Japan. Data collected during these cleanups is compiled and analyzed by the Ocean Conservancy for distribution to governments and other organizations around the world. Their stated aim is to shape policy dealing with ocean pollution and resource conservation.