Author: Chris Wieseler1

Spring Cleaning: Know Before You Throw!

This week’s post comes from our intern Maddy, a student at USD. Maddy and her mother are preparing to clean our their garage and want to remind San Diegans to use our one stop recycling resource, WastefreeSD.org, when getting rid of stuff this spring!

It’s That Time of Year Again – Spring Cleaning!

As the rain clears up and we get back to the normal, sunny San Diego weather, I feel as if I have a new spring in my step – and rightfully so. Today, March 20th, marks the Spring Equinox and the beginning of the spring season. It’s time to wear floral dresses, read a great book in the backyard, soak up some desperately needed vitamin D in the sun and unfortunately…clean out our garage.

I’m not sure who made spring-cleaning a necessary evil, but nevertheless, it’s a daunting task that we all feel a need to take on once the new season arrives. This year, we’re taking on the garage and I’m a bit fearful of what that might mean. Like many individuals, my garage is filled with junk from the past – obsolete electronics, bags of aluminum cans I haven’t had the energy to recycle yet, way too many gallons of old paint, an odd mix of cleaning supplies, a lawnmower from the early 1980s, my favorite Disney movies on VHS tapes and storage containers filled with arts and crafts supplies from when the kids were little.

As an environmentally conscious individual, I understand that many of these items aren’t just something I can throw away. I need to be responsible and find designated businesses and organizations that will take these things off of my hands, so I jumped on I Love A Clean San Diego’s recycling and disposal website, WasteFreeSD.org. Since I have more paint than I know what to do with, I thought I would start with that. I just plugged in my zip code, scrolled down to my specific community, found what type of waste I was looking to get rid of, and viola! WasteFreeSD.org told me exactly where to take my excess paint. Could it really be any easier? Now I don’t have any excuses holding me back from creating an organized and clean garage.

With the help of this resource, I’m positive that I can finish my spring-cleaning project within the next couple of weeks in an environmentally friendly manner. It’s important that we don’t just throw away toxic materials, like old paint or various containers of cleaning supplies, but that we dispose of them properly, so we do not endanger the health and safety of ourselves and the planet. So as you’re embarking upon your own big spring cleaning project, I encourage you to use ILACSD’s one stop recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org.

You can visit WasteFreeSD online at www.WasteFreeSD.org call I Love A Clean San Diego’s bilingual hotline at 1-800-237-BLUE (for incorporated county residents) or 1-877-R-1-Earth (for unincorporated county residents).

The sooner you finish cleaning and recycling your old items, the sooner you can sip lemonade on the front patio with your favorite book and soak up the San Diego sunshine. Because like always, don’t we all love a clean San Diego?

Don’t Just Wear Green, Be Green This St. Patrick’s Day!

On the seventeenth of March, people from all around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a variety of ways. Although it first began as a religious holiday to honor Saint Patrick and the coming of Christianity in Ireland, it has evolved into a global secular celebration of Irish culture.

The hallmark of this celebration is to wear green, and if you don’t, you’ll inevitably be pinched. At I Love A Clean San Diego, we don’t just wear green once a year – we practice green everyday of every year and encourage others to do the same.

This St. Patrick’s Day, wear green, but be green too! Here are some easy tips to really show off your green pride.

If you’re wearing a costume:

Don’t forget to recycle those plastic hats. Many of them are made from hard plastics – all of which can be recycled!
Always strive for organic materials, like cotton
Reuse your costume for next year, or donate it to a local thrift store

If you’re hosting a party:

Instead of purchasing plastic decorations, use real greenery!
For your table centerpieces, use potted plants, like the shamrock and add jasmine for a white contrast and sweet scent
Use reusable silverware, plates and napkins
To make paper decorations, use magazine and junk mail to cut into shamrock shapes and paint yourself (DIY is fun anyway!)
Provide eco-friendly foods, such as organic veggies and fruits, and try to purchase locally

If you’re drinking:

Opt for local beers – it cuts down on the environmental impact of shipping
Avoid hazardous chemically-dyed green beverages
Select a responsible driver and carpool. Better yet, use public transportation if you’re heading downtown!

As you’re celebrating this year, remember that you don’t only have to wear green: you can be green too.

Let the Rain do the Watering!

This week we are excited to have a guest post by Lana Findlay, former ILACSD staff member who now works with the City of San Diego’s Think Blue Program!

City Provides Rain Barrel Rebate to Promote Conservation and Prevent Pollution

Many of us enjoy green lawns, beautifully landscaped yards, and fresh produce from our backyard gardens. Unfortunately, thriving lawns and gardens can take up a lot of water. In fact, a typical San Diego household spends about 50% of its water use on landscape irrigation.

In addition, when too much water is used to irrigate yards this excess water can travel over contaminated surfaces (sidewalks, gutters, parking lots) to enter our storm drains. Here in San Diego our storm drains connect directly to our creeks, rivers, bays and ocean. This water does not get cleaned.

A quick and easy way to both conserve water and reduce the amount of runoff entering our storm drain system is to capture rainwater from your roof using a rain barrel. If you have always wanted to add a rain barrel to your yard, now is the time. Rain barrel rebate incentives are now being provided by the City of San Diego’s Water Conservation Program and the Transportation & Storm Water Department.

The rebate is simple, Public Utilities customers who install rain barrels on their property can receive a $0.50 rebate for every gallon of storage capacity their rain barrel holds – up to $200! To qualify for a rebate, applicants need to take pre- and post- installation photos and submit them with a completed rebate application and their receipts for rain barrels purchased after January 1st, 2012.

For more information about the rebate and to download an application, please visit: http://www.sandiego.gov/water/conservation/resrainwaterharvesting.shtml.

About Rain Barrels

Rain barrels connect to a home’s rain gutter downspout and are designed to capture rain water flowing from the roof to help irrigate gardens and landscaping.

When you supplement your irrigation water with water from your rain barrel, you:

Conserve water – A 1000 ft2 roof collects 625 gal for every 1 inch of rain that falls
Save money – Rainwater is free!
Save energy – Rain Barrels decrease your demand on the municipal water supply
Prevent pollution – Less water flows over contaminated surfaces to our waterways

Residential rain barrels can store from 50 gallons of rain water up to 400 gallons or more and come in many different shapes and designs. A standard rain barrel system consists of a rain gutter and downspout, a storage container, a locking lid and screen grate (to keep out debris and insects), an overflow pipe, and an outlet faucet. From the outlet faucet you can either collect your stored water using a watering can or connect it to a gravity-feed system of irrigation hoses that carry the water to your landscaping or garden.

If you would like to speak with someone about the installation process or about rebate guidelines, please contact a Conservation Representative directly at (619) 533-4126 or via email at waterconservationrebates@sandiego.gov. In addition, a Rainwater Harvesting Guide is also available on the rebate program’s website.

Do your part to conserve water and prevent pollution – Install a rain barrel in your yard and let the rain do the watering!

Questions?

Phone:   (619) 533-4126
Email:   waterconservationrebates@sandiego.gov.
Residential Rain Harvesting Website
Rain Barrel Pilot Program Information

Volunteer Spotlight: Cynthia Mallett

This month we wanted to spotlight an amazing volunteer who has been dedicating her time to I Love A Clean San Diego for over 20 years. Cynthia Mallett began as an ILACSD intern, looking to gain experience in the environmental arena, back in 1990 while she was still in college. Cynthia says that, “volunteering for ILACSD gave me a good foundation of understanding different components of the solid waste arena and was the starting point of my environmental career.” Cynthia now works for the City of Oceanside Clean Water Program and for the past 5 years, has served as a Creek to Bay site captain, leading volunteers in cleaning up the areas around the Oceanside Pier. When asked why this site is important to her, Cynthia responded “I feel that it is very important to volunteer within the community that I live so that I feel like I am contributing to the improvement of my own community.”

With the 2012 Creek to Bay Cleanup just around the corner, we asked Cynthia what the strangest item she’s ever found at a cleanup was. She said that one year she found, “a plastic container in the shape of a tooth had a small human tooth inside.” You just never know what you’ll find at our cleanups!

All of us at ILACSD would like to thank Cynthia for her commitment to our organization and to cleaning up the environment here in San Diego!

Full Q & A with Cynthia Mallett

What motivated you to volunteer with ILACSD?

When I was in college I was motivated to volunteer for ILACSD to get more experience in the environmental arena. I then secured an internship with the organization. Volunteering for ILACSD gave me a good foundation of understanding different components of the solid waste arena and was the starting point of my environmental career.

How long have you been volunteering with ILACSD?

I started volunteering for ILACSD in 1990 – 22 years ago.

How long have you been a site captain for Creek to Bay?

I have been a site captain for Creek to Bay for 5 years. I have been a captain at the Oceanside Pier site for over 20 years for either Creek to Bay or CA Coastal Cleanup Day. Since my employment at the City of Oceanside I also coordinate other cleanup sites throughout the year along Loma Alta Creek, Buena Vista Creek, and the San Luis Rey River. I recruit City staff and volunteers to assist at those sites while I am at the pier site.

Why is that site important to you?

I like to volunteer at the Oceanside pier site because this is the watershed in which I have lived for over 25 years – the San Luis Rey Watershed. I feel that it is very important to volunteer within the community that I live so that I feel like I am contributing to the improvement of my own community.

What is your favorite part of participating in the Creek to Bay cleanup?

I love to interact with the volunteers and share my experiences and expertise with them. I also like to see the results of how much trash is removed from the waterways.

Why do you think cleanups like Creek to Bay are important to keeping San Diego healthy and clean?

Creek to Bay events are important to coordinate in order to keep our beaches and inland waterways healthy for humans and animals. They also:

Provide a great opportunity for residents to participate in an event that improves their community
Improve storm water awareness among individuals that may lead to improved water quality.
Help foster a sense of responsibility in protecting water quality.

What is the strangest piece of trash you’ve found at a Creek to Bay Cleanup?

During one cleanup a plastic container in the shape of a tooth had a small human tooth inside. I am assuming that this was probably one of the first teeth lost by a young child who cherished it so much that they brought it to the beach. And then the child lost it there.

Trash Trackers Prove Cleanups Are Effective

In the winter of 2010, San Diego CoastKeeper and I Love A Clean San Diego partnered together to start a new project called Trash Trackers. One year later, the results are in!

Trash Trackers began as a program to document our impact on the environment, and see how cleanups help in the long run. During the study, volunteers counted each piece of trash within a one-hundred foot stretch next to a local stream or creek. They cleaned the entire area and documented how many pieces, and what types, of trash they found. One year later, volunteers combed the same one-hundred foot stretch in order to find out how much more trash had accumulated within that time period due to either upstream accumulation or littering directly on site.

So what did we find?

Each of our four sites – Otay River, San Diego River, Buena Vista Creek, and Chollas Creek – showed drastic decreases in the number of items found at the second cleanup. Whereas Otay River showed a 14.5% decrease, the San Diego River showed 63% less, Buena Vista Creek showed 68% less and Chollas Creek documented an amazing 74% less!

One area of Chollas Creek before cleanup

Even the biohazardous material was down an average of 27% at all of the sites.

Thanks to 700 volunteers over the last two years, this program removed 18,400 pounds of debris that otherwise may have ended up in our oceans. By removing this trash every year, we have direct evidence that our cleanup events not only remove debris from the immediate site, but they also help to ensure that in the future, the creeks are cleaner for everyone’s enjoyment.

ThePit — "The Pit" along the San Diego River by Fashion Valley Mall

Here at I Love A Clean San Diego, we are dedicated to keeping our community clean! The implementation of the Trash Trackers program allows us to collect hard data that reveal the problems that ensue from littering in waterways. We hope that our actions and the photos above inspire individuals to take responsibly for their local environment and get involved in in preventing litter around our community. After all, don’t we all love a clean San Diego?

Gas Station Sushi? Littering is Wrong Too!

Keep California Beautiful is launching a new anti-litter campaign and as their local partner here in San Diego, ILACSD is getting in on the action to help raise awareness about the issues created by litter in our communities.

Litter, can be seen throughout San Diego County and is an eyesore to our beautiful (and green) community. I Love A Clean San Diego attacks this problem with a two-pronged approach: prevention and removal.

We help prevent litter through our innovative and engaging education programs, as well as by providing the county’s only comprehensive, one stop recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org. We’re also best know for our countywide cleanups, which include San Diego’s two largest cleanups: Creek to Bay on April 28, 2012, and Coastal Cleanup Day on September 15, 2012.

Litter invites more litter. Once litter has accumulated along a road or in a community, people are more likely to keep littering there. 80% of our waterways are littered with trash that was dropped on land, which is one reason our cleanups focus heavily on inland areas, not just the beaches. If we want to protect ocean health and prevent marine debris we need to start inland. Do the right thing—by doing your part to prevent litter in California.

Set a good example for your friends, kids and neighbors. Don’t litter! Even a banana peel is considered litter. Don’t think so? Imagine what the streets would look like if every resident dropped a banana peel or apple core on the same day!
Place a bag in your car to collect personal trash (or recyclables) instead of tossing them.
Secure the lids on your trash and recycling containers, especially when you set them out on collection day.
When recycling at the curb, secure or bundle loose papers and other light objects tightly so they won’t get carried away with the wind.
Remove loose trash from the back of your pickup truck.
If you smoke, never leave your cigarette butts on the ground. Cigarette butts are the single most littered item found at our cleanups.
Get involved in a community cleanup. Sign up for our monthly newsletter and be the first to know about upcoming events.

The campaign “Littering is Wrong Too” takes a lighthearted approach to bring awareness to a serious problem. The campaigns messages range from ironic:

To sad:

To things that make you say “That’s just wrong!”

Check out the campaign website, www.LitteringisWrongToo.org, to “write your own wrong” and see even more of the funny sayings others from around the country have posted. Think about other things that are wrong, like wearing Dodgers hat at a Padres Game, or Texting While Driving, to help us show that there are all kinds of things you wouldn’t do, and littering should be one of them!

Fill in the blank: _____ is wrong, and littering is wrong too!

ILACSD Staff Reaches New Heights

For our January staff retreat this year, the I Love A Clean San Diego staff spent an afternoon at the Girl Scouts Adventure Zone in Balboa Park. The trained Adventure Zone staff led us in several team building and communications exercises topped off with the challenge of a 40 foot outdoor climbing wall!

Among other things, the challenges presented at the staff retreat helped us recognize each others unique skills and talents and fine tune the ways in which we communicate and work most effectively as a team.

See I Love A Clean San Diego staff reach new heights!

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Little Pieces Add Up at Cupid’s Cleanup

This past Valentine’s Day weekend, 214 volunteers participated in our Cupid’s Cleanup, our biggest turnout for this event ever! At first glance many of the volunteers probably thought this was going to be an easy cleanup, but they soon found that the seemingly spotless beach, park, and neighborhood areas surrounding Del Mar Powerhouse Park weren’t as clean as they appeared.

ILACSD Interns are setup and ready to clean.

Upon closer inspection, our trash scavengers saw that the beach and park were littered with small pieces of styrofoam and plastic. They took the time and care to pick up these little pieces and as a result, 175 pounds of trash and 61 pounds of recycling were collected that morning!

Those aren't bits of seashell, they're bits of Styrofoam!

Check out our Facebook page for more photos from another successful Cupid’s Cleanup!

Volunteers really enjoyed the event, and we hope they’ll all be back on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 for our Creek to Bay Cleanup. Creek to Bay is our signature event that spans 75+ inland and coastal sites throughout the county. Last year, more than 5,300 dedicated volunteers participated in the event, breaking volunteer records and cleaning up more miles of beaches, canyons and parks than ever before. See you there!

San Diego Needs Your Love this Valentine’s Day

We're showing the next generation of San Diegans how to care for our environment.

The staff and volunteers here at I Love A Clean San Diego work year-round to preserve the San Diego way of life that we all love. Our volunteers picked up 241 tons of trash last year, but there is still much more to be done to keep our city, it’s beaches, canyons, and parks beautiful and healthy for everyone to enjoy.

This Valentine’s Day, express your love for the environment by donating to I Love A Clean San Diego! Your support helps us continue to engage thousands of San Diegans in environmental events and educational programs that improve the quality of life in San Diego by caring for the natural environment. Every dollar counts, instead of buying gifts this year, here are suggestions for ways to show your love to San Diego today:

Donate $5 instead of a box of chocolates
Donate $10 instead of a cute teddy bear
Donate $25 instead of a dozen roses

Our community depends on us to provide much needed environmental programs and we depend on supporters like you to keep those programs growing.

Donate Today!

Tell us why YOU love a clean San Diego on our Facebook page!

Get a Little Dirty This Valentine’s Day

Sometimes cleaning up our environment means we have to get a little dirty in the process, but that doesn’t stop our volunteers!

CupidsCleanup2011 — Cupid's Cleanup 2011

Each year around Valentine’s Day, I Love A Clean San Diego organizes the Cupid’s Cleanup as a way for eco-minded singles, couples, and friends to show their love for a clean San Diego by cleaning up an area of our local community. We put on smaller cleanups like Cupid’s each month in communities across San Diego county who have well, gotten a little dirty. We announced last week that in 2011 we mobilized more than 29,000 volunteers who picked up 241 tons of trash from our community’s beaches, waterways, canyons, and parks.

Why get dirty at these cleanups?

Events like Cupid’s cleanup are vital to the health of our local environment and are an important part of preserving the San Diego way of life that we all love so much. Keeping trash out of our ocean not only helps the animals who live there, but also makes it safer for all San Diego residents to swim, surf and play in our coastal waters. If left where it was, that 241 tons of trash would have eventually made it’s way into our waterways and ultimately into the ocean. Who wants to hang out near a big batch of trash soup?

In addition to smaller monthly cleanups, ILACSD coordinates two of the largest countywide cleanup events each year, our signature event the Creek to Bay Cleanup coming up on April 28th, 2012, as well as Coastal Cleanup Day on September 15, 2012. This gives San Diego residents various volunteer options and they see first-hand how trash makes its way from inland communities all the way to the coast through San Diego County’s vast watershed system.

To sign up for Cupid’s Cleanup contact our Community Events Coordinator, Jemma at jdeleon@cleansd.org or at 619.704.2778 today!

Can’t make it to Cupid’s but want to find out about other upcoming events? Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter!

beach cleanup beach cleanups clean beaches clean water cleanups environment san diego environment water pollution prevention