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.

Thousands of Styrofoam pieces along the Otay River

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.

"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!

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.Shaving the Cat. Littering is Wrong Too.

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

Super-size Fries with a diet soda. Littering is wrong too.

To sad:

Breaking up on Valentine's Day. Littering is Wrong too.

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

Grandma's Thong. Littering is wrong too.

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

I Love A Clean San Diego Staff

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.
Volunteers start combing the beach.

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!

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!

ILACSD Cleans Up in 2011

After a stellar 2010 which saw our programs grow here at I Love A Clean San Diego, we set our sights on increasing effectiveness in 2011. Focusing on quality, awareness and sustainability, we have exciting results to announce from our 58th year of love for a clean San Diego!

Our Education Department continued its effective education programs, engaging a total of 30,835 youth and adults in 2011.

Our Educator, Alex, teaching kids about the importance of recycling
This is a slight increase from 2010, but in 2011 our focus was on making education more engaging and interactive. We used new assessment tools that showed that 39% of students who received our presentations were more likely to personally take action to prevent pollution based on their newly acquired environmental knowledge. 

Our Community Events Department continued to make strong impacts on San Diego County, mobilizing 29,000 volunteers to remove 241 tons of trash from the local environment.
 
This year, we focused on enhancing participants experience and ensuring strong volunteer retention. The addition of beautification service projects and education opportunities resulted in 100% of surveyed volunteers responding that they would attend another ILACSD volunteer event in the future.

“I loved being able to assist the environment in a hands-on way. It made me very aware of where the trash goes.” – Clean Canyons for a Clean Coast Volunteer

WasteFreeSD.org, our one stop recycling resource, continued to provide accurate referrals to San Diego County residents on how to dispose of or recycle 19,000 items.

WasteFreeSD.org provides residents with information on recycling and proper disposal of hazardous items, diverting countless amounts of waste from San Diego’s landfills, and preventing illegal dumping in our communities. We experienced a 14% increase in requests for information through our website, www.WasteFreeSD.org. Recent partnership expansions with local jurisdictions will ensure that this integral piece of our environmental programming will continue to assist the public in making responsible disposal decisions.

In 2012 we plan to focus our efforts on expanding our influence, increasing our impact by integrating our programs and our continued leadership in protecting and enhancing San Diego County’s unique environment.

Save the date for the 10th anniversary of our Creek to Bay Cleanup, April 28, 2012! See you there!

Why Should You Recycle Your Used Oil Filter?

Local resident recycling her used oil filter

Did you know that one used oil filter has an average of 10 fluid ounces of motor oil trapped inside it?

Many people know that they can and should recycle their used motor oil, but they may not know that your used oil filter also contains used motor oil, as well as steel, both of which can be recycled so that they don’t contaminate our local environment and take up space in local landfills.   CalRecycle reports that more than two million gallons of motor oil from these filters are being disposed of improperly each year in California. Recycled used motor oil can be re-refined and used again, ensuring that it doesn’t contaminate our local waterways.  It only takes one gallon of used oil to contaminate one million gallons of drinking water!

I Love A Clean San Diego has partnered with cities in the area to provide an incentive to residents to properly dispose of used oil filters by providing a replacement filter for free when they bring their old filters to one of the events below.

If you can’t attend one of these events, there are more than 300 locations in San Diego County that accept used oil filters year-round for recycling at no charge. These locations, most of them auto parts and repair stores known as Certified Collection Centers, will also accept up to five gallons of used motor oil at no charge. In addition, Certified Collection Centers will pay residents 40 cents per gallon of used motor oil, upon request. Motor oil can’t be contaminated with water or other liquids such as antifreeze, solvents, or gasoline. If you have contaminated motor oil or more than five gallons of non-contaminated motor oil, you must visit a household hazardous waste collection facility.

For more information on where to recycle used motor oil and oil filters, visit I Love A Clean San Diego’s one stop recycling resource, WasteFreeSD.org. We encourage all San Diegans to visit our recycling website to learn more about similar events held countywide!

Upcoming Oil Filter Exchange Events:

Bring your old filter and receive a new one for free! Limit one free filter per person.

Chula Vista
Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 454 Broadway Ave.

El Cajon
Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 201 Jamacha Rd.

Santee
Saturday, February 11, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
Pep Boys at 10041 Mission Gorge Rd.

Lemon Grove
Saturday February 18, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 6925 Federal Blvd.

La Mesa
Saturday February 25, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 5350 Jackson Dr.

National City
Saturday March 3, 2012 from 9am – 1pm
O’Reilly Auto Parts at 1202 E. Plaza Blvd.

Intern Focus: Christina, Community Events Intern

Christina Diette came to I Love A Clean San Diego in September 2011 looking to gain experience in event coordination and make use of a love for the outdoors that she gained growing up in a rural community.  Since her start as the Community Events Intern, she has attended six outreach events and cleanups, and has spent countless hours in the office helping with event preparation, volunteer recruitment, and program maintenance.

Christina, right, with ILACSD staff at an outreach event

My father often tells me that he doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. Somehow, I seem to have gained the same mentality. Almost three years after earning my undergraduate degree in History, I have yet to determine what I want to be when I grow up. With our current economy making it hard for graduates such as myself to find careers pertaining to our degrees, the world may still hold opportunities to travel down a rewarding path. Over the past four months, that path in my life has been with I Love A Clean San Diego.

According to Daniel Pink in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, people are more motivated and satisfied in their work lives if they believe they are working for a purpose greater than themselves. As an intern at ILACSD, I do believe I am working toward a greater cause. With every email I send asking for volunteers and with every early Saturday morning I spend checking in volunteers at clean-up sites, I am making a difference in this organization’s ability to fulfill its mission to help the community learn about and participate in enhancing our local environment.

My experience at ILACSD has been varied and eye opening. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand the extreme amount of refuse that ends up in the Tijuana River. I helped young children recognize the difference between trash and recyclables at a street fair. I spent an evening at a mixer surrounded by eco-conscious locals and vendors on the rooftop of a green-certified hotel, and walked the streets of Pacific Beach counting cigarette butts to determine the success of the organization’s Cigarette Litter Prevention Program. I have always recycled, but this internship has showed me just how many more ways one can help make a difference.

Like my father, I may not know what I want to be when I grow up. I do know, however, that continuing to live an environmentally responsible lifestyle is a priority, wherever life takes me. Making a difference, however small, is the opportunity that ILACSD has afforded me and what I have learned here will stay with me always.