Author: Chris Wieseler1

New in 2013: Tsunami Sweepers

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Community Events Coordinator, Lexi Ambrogi!

Here at I Love A Clean San Diego, we love a good reason to get out and clean up our communities. Whether it’s a street-sweep cleanup to prevent trash from washing down our storm drains and out to sea, or a post-holiday beach cleanup to pick up after 4^th of July beachgoers, we are always looking for practical and meaningful reasons to inspire our volunteers to keep San Diego beautiful.

This Saturday, January 26, we’ll be kicking off a new series of beach cleanups at Torrey Pines State Beach called Tsunami Sweepers. In addition to combing the shoreline for standard beach litter (cigarette butts, plastic bags, Styrofoam scraps), our volunteers will be searching for a very specific types of debris.

800_japan-tsunami-debris — Tsunami debris in Santa Cruz. Source.

tsunamidock — Tsunami debris in Oregon. Source.

Some coastal communities have already seen the beginnings of what will surely be an influx of trash washing ashore: a fridge and buoys in Hawaii, docks in Washington and Oregon, and more.

ILACSD has teamed up with the California Coastal Commission to host a series of cleanup events in 2013 that are designed to help us track and understand more about the debris from this tsunami.

Volunteers who join us for this series of events will be briefed on what to look for in identifying debris from Japan (Japanese writing, or large pieces of shipping or building materials, to name a few).

If you’re interested in attending this cleanup and joining in the effort to help scientists understand more about this natural disaster and how it will impact your community, email Lexi Ambrogi at lambrogi@cleansd.org to sign up.

If you can’t make it out this weekend, don’t worry—we’ll be hosting several more of these events throughout 2013. Hope to see you there!

With Your Help, ILACSD Cleaned Up in 2012!

Every year our goal here at ILACSD is to get more San Diegans involved in making our beautiful city cleaner and healthier and to protect the San Diego way of life we all know and love. 2012 was no exception, and more of you came out to volunteer in your community than ever before!

So how did we do in 2012?

More Education. We know that the only way we can make sure San Diego stays clean long into the future, is if we educate our kids today about how their everyday actions affect the world around them. In 2012, our Educators gave 531 presentations – over 10 a week! – to more than 37,000 youth and adults. That mean our donors and supporters (that’s you!) helped us reach out to 20% more San Diegans than we did in 2011!

More Volunteers. Volunteering gives residents pride in their community and empowers them to take responsibility for keeping it clean. In 2012, more than 30,000 of you came out to lend a hand in keeping your neighborhoods, beaches, canyons and creeks clean! Cleanups are no walk in the park, picking up trash is dirty work and we couldn’t do it without dedicated volunteers like you.

Less Trash. It might seem like with more volunteers, we should be picking up more trash right? Well less trash is actually great news. It means that the areas we’re cleaning up are staying cleaner year after year! It also means that our two pronged approach, cleanups and litter prevention through education and resources like WasteFreeSD.org, are making an impact on not only our local environment, but on the people who live, work, and play throughout San Diego. Still, 359,000 pounds of trash and debris were picked up by our volunteers this year, and that’s no small feat!

…but More Recycling. Even though volunteers picked up less trash in 2012, a higher percentage of that trash was recyclable to the tune of about 93,000 pounds. Recycling more debris keeps it out of our landfills and saves resources when it’s made into something new. If you want to know more about why recycling is important, check out the Recycle 101 section of WasteFreeSD.org!

Results like these don’t happen overnight. It takes a hard working staff, dedicated volunteers, and the financial support of donors, foundations, local businesses, and local government all working together for one purpose: a cleaner, healthier San Diego!

We’re looking forward to working with all of our partners and volunteers in 2013 as we lead up to celebrating ILACSD’s 60th birthday in 2014!

WasteFreeSD.org Gets a New Look for the New Year

As you may know I Love A Clean San Diego, in partnership with the County of San Diego, operates San Diego’s official recycling website and call center which refers thousands of residents to where in San Diego they can recycle or dispose of just about anything. From broken surfboards to wine corks, cooking oil to bridesmaids dresses, WasteFreeSD.org makes recycling in San Diego quick and convenient.

WFSDscreenshot — New look, same great resource!

San Diego County can be a tricky place to navigate when trying to figure out where to recycle some things. All 18 jurisdictions in San Diego have different rules depending on where you live, which is why WasteFreeSD.org uses your zip code to find out exactly where you can take your items to be recycled or disposed of properly. By giving residents an easy way to get rid of things they don’t want, WasteFreeSD.org diverts tons of waste from local landfills, encourages people to be more eco-friendly, and prevents illegal dumping from damaging our local community.

What’s New?

New Look. It’s cleaner, it’s shinier, and it’s got a lot more useful recycling information for you all in one place.

Easier to Use. You can now start typing in the search field and it auto-fills the available options for you! On the results page, there is also a new map feature that shows you where the recycling centers are in your area.

Updated Resources. From why recycling is important for our local community, to what exactly you can put in your blue bin at home, the new WasteFreeSD.org is chock full of information and even short videos from our ILACSD staff.

En Español. The WasteFreeSD hotline has been bi-lingual for some time now, but that was the only option for Spanish speaking San Diegans to get the recycling information they need. WasteFreeSD.org En Español is a great new feature and even includes a video from our Educator, Monica, on what can and can’t be recycled in your blue bin!

WasteFreeSD.org is still your go-to resource for recycling and hazardous waste disposal information in San Diego County. The new look and feel just make it even easier to navigate! We want to get the word out about this great one stop recycling resource, which is an extremely important tool to help keep our local community clean and encourage recycling.

Why is WasteFreeSD.org Important?

The average person throws away 4.5 pounds of trash a day, adding up to more than 1,400 pounds per person a year. We million plus San Diegans are piling our waste high. In fact, it has been in the news recently that our current pace of trash accumulation will likely cause the local landfill to fill up within the decade.

We hope that by telling people about WasteFreeSD.org, we will help them make better decisions about what they throw in the trash.

Go check out the all new WasteFreeSD.org today and help us get to word out by telling your friends and family too!

Hot topics in 2012: Our top blog posts of the year

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Development & Marketing Coordinator, Jessica Green!

As we wrap up this last day of 2012, we thought we’d take a look back at what you guys thought were our most interesting blog posts from the last year. We’re also getting ready to announce some really exciting totals from the year, including how many thousands of pounds of trash you helped us clean up from all across San Diego – but we’re going to make you wait a few more days for those 🙂

In the mean time, for your reading pleasure check out our top 10 blog posts from 2012 below! And don’t forget, today is the last day to get in your tax-deductible donations in 2012. Every donation to I Love A Clean San Diego is an investment in your community.

Let’s start 2013 with a cleaner San Diego – Donate Today!

2012’s Hot Topics:

Gas Station Sushi? Littering is Wrong Too! – This new tongue-in-cheek anti-litter campaign got the most attention from our readers in 2012!
From Surfboards to Wine Corks, Your Summer Recycling Guide! – Make a resolution in 2013 to use our one-stop recycling resource for San Diego, WasteFreeSD.org, before you throw out anything in your house!
Stopping Cigarette Litter, One Butt at a Time – If you’ve ever volunteered at one of our cleanups, you know cigarette butts are the #1 item we pick up. This post shows you one way we’re doing something about that.
Local Students Defend the Sea at Kids Ocean Day 2012 – Arguably the coolest event we had all year! 1,000 students and volunteers sent a message to San Diegans that we must ‘Defend the Sea’
Let the Rain do the Watering! – This guest post from our friends at City of San Diego, Think Blue tells you all about the city’s rain barrel rebate program and why rain barrels are good for your yard and the environment!
New Recycling Regulations for Businesses & Multi-Family Properties – A new law went into affect this year requiring businesses to start recycling their waste, we give you the low down on the new requirements and resources for local businesses to help them meet them.
Lights, Camera, Action! – Our first ever Sony Volunteer In Action photo contest at our Creek to Bay Cleanup was a big hit! Click here to see our winner.
Local Photographer Highlights City Heights Cleanups – Chuck Hansen decided he wanted to use his volunteer time a little differently this year. He set out to capture our volunteers as they cleaned up his old neighborhood.
Why Should You Recycle Your Used Oil Filter? – Because it could have up to 10 ozs. of motor oil still in it! We give you the why and where to recycle your used oil filter.
Volunteer Spotlight: Bob and Jan Rogers – We don’t like to play favorites here at ILACSD, but these two are pretty amazing volunteers!

Have a happy and safe New Year from all of us here at I Love A Clean San Diego!

Beyond Wrapping Paper: Recycle Your Tree Too!

Each holiday season, the County of San Diego and ILACSD work together to remind everyone that holiday recycling goes beyond just wrapping paper and gift boxes, your tree can be recycled too!

This year, I Love A Clean San Diego is celebrating its 38th year of providing information on holiday tree recycling to San Diego residents! Started in 1974, our tree recycling hotline was staffed completely by volunteers until recently when our hotline and database were expanded to include recycling information all year round.

Throwing away your holiday tree and other foliage needlessly wastes a natural resource and decreases the capacity of local landfills. Trees and yard trimmings are easily recyclable into mulch and compost which are then used to improve soil health at residences, public parks, and local farms. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 25-30 million holiday trees are sold each year in the United States.

Most waste haulers offer special holiday tree recycling programs to pick up trees with yard waste on regular collection days. In addition to curbside pick-up, tree drop-off sites are located in the communities of Bonsall, Carlsbad, Coronado, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, Fallbrook, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Ramona, San Marcos, Solana Beach, Valley Center, Vista and several communities in the City of San Diego. A complete list of tree recycling locations is also available at www.WasteFreeSD.org.

I Love A Clean San Diego operates San Diego County’s official recycling website and call center which refers thousands of residents to the proper facilities to recycle or dispose of just about anything. From broken surfboards to wine corks, railroad ties to cooking oil, WasteFreeSD makes recycling quick and convenient. San Diego County residents can go to: www.WasteFreeSD.org or call 1-877-R-1-EARTH to learn how to recycle their holiday trees as well as hundreds of other items.

Before recycling your holiday tree, review this list of recycling tips to ensure that your tree is recycled properly:

Trees taller than four feet should be cut in half.
All tree stands, nails and tree decorations must be removed.
Check with your local hauler to see if they accept flocked trees (most do not).

You can set an example for our community today!

billhaines — Bill Haines
Vice President, ILACSD Board of Directors

I am a lifelong surfer and grew up a stone’s throw from the beautiful beaches of Laguna. I have always hated trash on the beach and its consequent migration into our ocean. Every year there seemed to be more debris on the beach.

Around 1995 I heard about an organization that did something about the plastic, trash and debris that litter our shorelines. At I Love A Clean San Diego, I became a volunteer lead on a “fill in” basis, asking to be sent to wherever there was a need. From Oceanside to Otay Mesa, I saw enthusiastic volunteers, families with kids, concerned local people and grey haired seniors come out in force and clean up their surroundings. Today, at our cleanups we mobilize some 30,000 of these volunteers each year.

When a friend suggested that I join the Board of Directors, it seemed like a way to amplify my desires to make a better community. We all would like to do something that makes a difference, some act whereby we make this a better world. By volunteering for I Love A Clean San Diego, I am satisfying this urge.

As a volunteer I see young families show their kids how to do the right thing, seniors gratified by making their own neighborhood a better place, and calls to our recycling and hazardous waste hotline that prevent hazardous waste from going down a storm drain.

When I donate to I Love A Clean San Diego, I know those dollars will be squeezed thriftily and used to educate many – truly a good feeling! Today I am asking you to make an investment in your local community by donating to I Love A Clean San Diego too.

With your support we will continue to spread the word, take hundreds of tons of debris out of our waterways and set an example for our community. Our growing involvement with all citizens of San Diego is helping to create a new generation of environmentally aware citizens.

Sincerely,

Bill Haines
Vice President, ILACSD Board of Directors

P.S. Your tax-deductible donation to I Love A Clean San Diego protects your community now and for future generations – please donate today!

We’re going plastic bag-less this Thursday!

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Community Event Coordinator, Lexi Ambrogi!

People often ask me what kind of trash we commonly find at our cleanups. Aside from cigarette butts—which are tiny, but they’re everywhere—what volunteers tell us time and time again is that they are filling their trash buckets with lots of single-use plastics. This includes plastic water bottles, plastic utensils, and my personal pet peeve: plastic bags.

bagmonter — The Bag Monster shows you what 500 plastic bags really looks like!

San Diegans use an average of 500 plastic bags per person each year, and while you can return them to the grocery store to be recycled, you can’t put them in your blue bin at home. Most plastic bags head straight to the landfill, where they will stay for a very long time without breaking down. What’s worse is that even bags that are thrown away properly can blow out of open dumpsters and trash cans and become part of the litter we see on the streets and at our beaches.

But it’s the holiday season, and we have some cheerful news for you! This Thursday, December 20 you can participate in an I Love A Clean San Diego event called Day Without A Bag. Volunteers will be handing out reusable bags—totally free!—at grocery stores all over San Diego County (see map here) from 5-7PM. No strings attached: just show up and get a bag, while supplies last.

The goal for this event is to encourage San Diego residents to stop relying on the single-use plastic bags from stores. Reusable bags are more durable, less wasteful, and better for the environment, and if you don’t already use them, Day Without A Bag is a great time to start!

If you can’t make it to one of those stores, a few grocery chains have special promotions going on that reward shoppers who bring their own reusable bags (see map for details). Some offer a credit for each bag, and some enter you into a drawing to win gift cards. And who doesn’t love being rewarded for helping out the environment?

Finally, as you’re out doing last-minute holiday shopping this season, remember that your reusable bags aren’t just for the grocery store. Check out these useful tips for ways to remember to bring your bags with you whenever you go out, whether it’s for a quick trip to the corner store or for an all-day marathon of holiday shopping—every time you say no to plastic bags, you’re helping to keep San Diego clean!

How can you help protect our environment? Join the Think Blue Brigade!

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Education Coordinator, Erika Bjorkquist!

TBBharbor_trash — Debris in a local marina after last week’s rain

Last week, it rained in San Diego for the first time in about 3 weeks. While it was hard to miss the extra 45 minutes added to my daily commute and the endless detours around Point Loma to escape the flooding of Midway, one thing that may have slipped passed people’s attention was the pollution entering our storm drains. As water made its way off our streets, rings of debris were left, marking the extent of the flooding. What is incredible is that we do not see the amount of pollution that has already gone into the storm drains and made its way to the ocean. We only see the pieces that are left behind for the next rain.

TBBsd river trash — Trash that washed into the San Diego River

While this seems a little dreary, here is something to brighten your day: You can help! If you are a student in middle school or high school in the City of San Diego, you can make a difference in keeping our water clean! Join the Think Blue Brigade and stop pollution from entering our oceans and waterways.

Do you like to swim or surf in the ocean? Do you enjoy laying out in the beautiful sunshine? Do you take advantage of places like Dog Beach to walk your dog? Do you take pride in our environment? Do you need to fulfill community service hours? If you answered YES to any of these, sign up for the Think Blue Brigade (TBB)!

TBB is a way to get students involved in helping the environment by keeping San Diego’s beaches and waterways clean. What you do with the TBB doesn’t only help the environment, it helps you too!

What you gain:

Community service hours
A name-recognized club to include on your resume
Free educational presentations
TBB swag – like reusable water bottles, wristbands, and t-shirts
Movie tickets
Recognition on our social media sites!

What you need to do:

1. Participate in 3 environmental events. This can include:

– Cleanup events: ILACSD and Think Blue will provide snacks and cleanup supplies at your event
– Storm Drain Stenciling: ILACSD and Think Blue will provide snacks and cleanup supplies at your event
– Staffing a table at a local environmental event

2. Document what you did

– Create some type of documentation: This is the fun part! If you like photography, make a slideshow; if you like video, create a documentary of the cleanup and how you helped; if you like to write, write a reflection of the event and what it means to the environment. The possibilities are endless!
– Use what inspires you to help inspire others because you make a difference!

You can participate as an individual or in a group. Before you decide to go out, give me a call at 619-704-2777 or email me a ebjorkquist@cleansd.org and we can work out the logistics. If you have ANY QUESTIONS please do not hesitate to call or email me!

We want to keep our beaches and waterways clean and beautiful for people, plants, and animals to enjoy, so join the Think Blue Brigade and make a difference today!

What are Your Favorite “Green” Holiday Tips?

Today’s post comes from ILACSD’s Intern, Emily Knuutinen!

What do you think of when you think of the holiday season? Initially, you probably think of family, good food, presents, lights, trees, the scent of pine, the smell of cookies…If you think a little harder you may also start to think of our huge consumption during this time of the year, from buying something you hope your difficult-to-buy-for uncle will like, to the energy to power lights, to the driving all around buying presents, cards, decorations, and other things to make your holiday season a little merrier.

We’ve complied some of the easiest tips to keep your mind on family and the food and not on how full your trashcan will be by the end of the week, but we also want to hear what YOU are doing to lessen the amount of waste you produce this holiday season. Leave your favorite tips in the comments below!

Choose bags over wrapping paper. They are easier to store and reuse. If you want to wrap presents, try reusing newspaper, posters, napkins, maps or whatever other materials you have around your house!
Send e-cards, or if you would prefer to send actual cards, choose ones made of recycled material. Or make your own cards, again using whatever materials you already have.
Use LED Christmas lights. LED lights use less energy and are less likely to catch a tree on fire. Safer and cheaper, what’s not to love? They may have a higher upfront cost, but the lower energy bills will make them cheaper in the long run.
Reusable bags aren’t just for the grocery store. Remember to bring those reusable bags when you are out gift shopping too!
Give gifts that are eco-friendly. Local crafts are great, as are presents made of recycled materials. When buying from a store, look for ones with limited packaging, durable materials, and products that are easy to repair. Look for eco-friendly materials like organic cotton or bamboo.
Get creative this season and make your own presents! You can bake cookies, knit scarves or hats, paint, draw, make calendars or mugs with your own photos, or turn whatever it is that you love into a present.
Use reusable plates and silverware at your holiday gathering. As tempting as it may be to use paper plates and plastic utensils, this creates a lot of waste, uses a lot of energy and materials to create, and produces greenhouse gases as it sits in a landfill. So pass out reusable plates and prepare to ask for help for the cleanup.
Recycle packaging at your holiday celebration. Wrapping papers, cards, and plastic containers can be recycled. Americans generate 25% more waste between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, and much of this can be recycled!
Wondering if you should get a tree, or whether plastic or live is better? The best option is to buy a live, potted tree. The second best tree option is to buy a live tree but recycle it afterwards. If you are debating between a real and a live tree, real trees are better, according to Earth911, because fake trees involve many harmful chemicals in their production, and most are transported all the way from China where they are manufactured.
Remember the importance of the 3 Rs this season! Reduce your consumption, reuse materials you already have, and recycle your paper and tree. Give the invaluable gift of sustainability this season and follow our tips!

Want more? Check out these other resources from around the web:

Recycle Curbside blog

Ecology Center’s Holiday Tips

Ventura County Star’s Holiday Waste Article

Terra Cycle’s Community Blog

Elementary student says: ‘So come on, help make a difference’

Today’s post comes from Sarah, a student at Barnett Elementary School in Ramona. Sarah shares what she learned this year at the County of San Diego and I Love A Clean San Diego’s America Recycles Day.

Kate & Monica, ILACSD Educators, teach the class about recycling.

At school, we learned just about HOW important recycling is. There are many benefits to recycling, some being that it prevents pollution, saves energy, conserves natural resources, helps create new well-paying jobs in the recycling and manufacturing industries in the United States, and many more.

Anyways, first we went into a really cool presentation which they called, The Splash Lab. During The Splash Lab, we were sent into individual groups, and MY group was outside learning about our environment. We talked about a kind of stream or river called an estuary. One really cool fact they taught our station was that there was a kind of water that was saltier than fresh water, but not as salty as seawater. It’s called Brackish Water. Did you know that? After that station, my group went into a different section where we learned how much our ocean is getting polluted. For example: People throw their trash on the ground and in the water after finishing what they had instead of putting it in the garbage or recycling bin. Once thrown on the ground, animals try to eat the trash filled with food or whatever was in it because they are hungry. The garbage can either make them sick or cause them to die. Factories give off burning fossil fuels that make the air taste disgusting. If these gases are inhaled, the living being can become very sick or even get cancer in the lungs. That’s why I think that recycling should be mandatory and there should be recycling cans in various locations at school and everywhere else. Good thing we have a recycling bin at school now!

Afterwards, they demonstrated to us what the garbage man does during his job. I got to admit it was pretty awesome to see that. You could imagine how much recycled objects they collected in a day or in a YEAR.

After we left the Splash Lab, we went into an assembly to the related topic, recycling. We learned that recycling is the process of collecting recyclable materials such as used bottles, cans, and old newspapers that would otherwise be considered waste and turning them into potentially useful materials. There are three steps to the recycling process. The first is collecting and processing materials, the second is to manufacture raw materials into new products, and third to purchase recycled goods. This process completes the recycling loop.

At the end of the day, students did a cleanup, picking up trash and recyclables near their school.

Recycling isn’t just something we do at home. At school we can reduce, reuse and recycle too. Kids can bring lunches in plastic containers that can be washed and reused. In class, we can reuse paper and buy paper that is made from recycled materials. Our school could raise money with a recycling drive. All the papers we could collect could be sold and the money used to buy things we need, it would also save trees.

That’s where WE come in. We can help our environment if we encourage people to make a commitment about actually collecting any recyclable materials. One important thing I learned is that recycling isn’t really that hard and it takes a little effort to help clean up our country. So come on, Help Make a Difference.

Thank you Sarah for showing that you love a clean San Diego too!