SAN DIEGO — This morning, 3,890 San Diegans joined I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) at 92 cleanup sites across the county for the 42nd annual Coastal Cleanup Day.
An estimated 57,751 pounds of litter and debris were removed from San Diego communities, preventing waste from polluting local waterways and the Pacific Ocean.
About the Cleanup
Volunteers gathered at 9 a.m. across the county’s beaches, canyons, rivers, and parks.
Volunteers used grabbers and gloves to clear litter before it could travel through storm drains to the coast. At select sites, volunteers focused on removing invasive species from the environment.
“Litter is the sixth most talked about thing in the country. And there’s good news,” said Steve Morris, ILACSD executive director. “Based on the last litter study (from Keep America Beautiful), litter is down 34% across America. That tells me this is a solvable problem. We can reduce the amount of litter in our environment.”
Volunteers tracked and recorded each piece of litter they collected. The California Coastal Commission funnels this data into the world’s largest marine database which helps guide international environmental priorities.
Cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps, and food wrappers were among the most collected items. Odd items found today include a foot massager, a sofa cushion and flippers.
Kickoff Site
ILACSD’s cleanup kickoff site was located at Pepper Park in National City.
It included booths from iHeartRadio, Toyota, Haul Away Any Day, SDG&E, Project Clean Water SD, San Diego Community Power, the Cigarette Surfboard and Bank of America. Ben and Jerry’s gave away free ice cream.
Ocean Connectors offered volunteers the chance to use kayaks to pick up litter in the water. Total litter collected from the water was 242 pounds.
ILACSD’s Coastal Cleanup Day Involvement
ILACSD has been the official organizer of Coastal Cleanup Day in San Diego County since its inception in 1985. Over the past 42 years, more than 270,000 volunteers have removed over 5 million pounds of litter from local outdoor spaces.
Coastal Cleanup Day aligns with the global International Coastal Cleanup, which mobilizes millions of volunteers across more than 150 countries to tackle plastic pollution and protect ocean health.
Local Sponsors
Coastal Cleanup Day is supported locally by Gold Sponsors: Niagara Cares, SDG&E, Cox Communications, County of San Diego, Wells Fargo, Northrop Grumman, PNC Bank, Project Clean Water, and Bank of America.
