California Coastal Clean-up
September 18, 2021
California Coastal Cleanup Day was first organized by the Coastal Commission in 1985. September is Coastal Cleanup Month. The aim is to remove the trash and plastic pollution at beaches and waterways throughout the state. In 2019, more than 74,000 volunteers picked up more than 900,000 pounds of trash from beaches and waterways throughout California. Close to 17,000 Californians participated in a neighborhood cleanup during September 2020, preventing over 150,000 pounds of trash from entering our stormwater systems and potentially polluting our coast and ocean. Most of the marine debris that we find on our beaches actually starts as urban trash or street litter, so this continuing effort to “stop trash where it starts” has actually increased the amount of trash picked up per person each year.
U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Volunteers
On Saturday September 18, 2021 our U S Coast Guard Auxiliary team, Rudy Cortez, Bob Branam, Patrick Newburn and Robert Hamming, representing Flotillas 72, 73 and 77 mustered at the Ventura Harbor beach joining hundreds of other civilian volunteers for a beach cleaning patrol. We invited shipmates of USCG Station Channel Islands Harbor to join us, however, they were diverted at the last minute for critical life saving tasks. The AUX team collected 59 pounds of trash including paper products, hypodermic syringe with needle attached, glass bottles, plastic bottle caps, masks, tarps and numerous cigarette butts.
PROTECTING OUR MARINE LIFE
The nation’s waterways and marine ecosystems are vital to the country’s economy and health. Ensuring America enjoys a rich, diverse and sustainable ocean environment is an important Coast Guard mission. This includes ensuring the country’s protected marine species are provided the protection necessary to help their populations recover to healthy, sustainable levels.
Past Cleanup Results:
| TOP 1988-2017 | COUNT | PERCENTAGE |
|---|---|---|
| #1. Cigarettes/Cigarette Filters | 7,535,411 | 36.96% |
| #2. Food Wrappers/Containers | 2,193,018 | 10.76% |
| #3. Caps/Lids | 1,861,923 | 9.13% |
| #4. Bags (paper and plastic) | 1,572,241 | 7.71% |
| #5. Cups/Plates/Utensils | 1,113,129 | 5.46% |
| #6. Straws/Stirrers | 863,481 | 4.24% |
| #7. Glass Beverage Bottles | 679,709 | 3.33% |
| #8. Plastic Beverage Bottles | 554,825 | 2.72% |
| #9. Beverage Cans | 496,117 | 2.43% |
| #10. Construction Material | 367,729 | 1.80% |
Click here For more information about California Coastal Clean-up.
