Coastal Cleanup Day Clears Over 5,000 Pounds Of Trash

Source: Explore Ecology

Thank you, Santa Barbara! This year, you really cleaned up.

1,259 volunteers showed up for the 35th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 21st and picked up over 5,663 pounds of trash and over 674 pounds of recyclables for a total of 6,338.35 pounds or 3.169 tons. Altogether, they covered an estimated 58.25 miles at sites ranging from Rincon Beach Park to Guadalupe Dunes.

Some of the items found at Santa Barbara County sites include:

Plastic Pieces: 3,355 pieces of plastic
Cigarette Butts: 3,909
Foam: 1,902
Straws: 292
Plastic Bottle Caps: 634
Food Wrappers: 1,364
Plastic Beverage Bottles: 185
Plastic Bags: 303

Coastal Cleanup Day is part of a much larger international event. With 75% of California’s cleanup sites reporting, the statewide count stands at 59,772 volunteers who picked up 469,100 pounds of trash and an additional 33,611 pounds of recyclable materials, for a total of 402,710 pounds or 251 tons.

The most unusual items found in Santa Barbara County were a Beanie Baby, a 6 foot long rusty Spear, an escaped plastic Monkey from a Barrel of Monkeys, a Go Pro, a Teddy Bear, and a New Zealand Baseball Cap found by a crew planning a trip to New Zealand. Winners of the statewide Most Unusual Item Contest were a statue of Vishnu and a message in a bottle.

Volunteers who participated in the Cleanup can visit: www.Coast4U.org to fill out the Coastal Cleanup Day Volunteer Survey and be entered in a drawing for fabulous prizes.

Jill Cloutier, PR Director for Explore Ecology, says, “We thank everyone who participated in this year’s cleanup. We had more volunteers than last year and picked up more cigarette butts, food wrappers, and pieces of foam. We didn’t find as many plastic pieces, plastic bags, and straws! Let’s keep up the good work and continue to get plastic and other debris off of our beaches.”

Coastal Cleanup Day is made possible with the help of local businesses, nonprofits, and individuals who volunteer their time to make a difference.

Next year’s Coastal Cleanup Day is scheduled for Saturday, September 19, 2020. Stay tuned for details on Explore Ecology’s website: ExploreEcology.org/Coastal-Cleanup-Day/.

For volunteers who don’t want to wait until next year to participate in a beach cleanup, Explore Ecology sponsors Monthly Beach Cleanups, on the 2nd Sunday of every month from 10:00 pm to 12:00 pm at Arroyo Burro Beach.

In Santa Barbara County, Coastal Cleanup Day is brought to the community by Explore Ecology, with the support of the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management and the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang.

About Explore Ecology: Explore Ecology is an environmental education and arts nonprofit that works with over 30,000 children a year, inspiring them to engage with the natural world, think critically, and experience the value of environmental stewardship. Explore Ecology programs include the Art From Scrap Creative ReUse Store and Gallery, Watershed Resource Center, and School Gardens Program. For more information, visit ExploreEcology.org.