This year, California Coastal Cleanup begins at everyone’s front doors. Tens of thousands of Californians will help keep our beaches and waterways free of debris by cleaning within their own neighborhoods while staying safe and maintaining distance from others outside their households. Trash travels through storm drains, creeks, and rivers to become beach and ocean pollution, so Californians can make a real difference to the health of the coast by removing trash before it has a chance to become marine debris.
In 2019, over 74,000 volunteers removed more than 900,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from 55 counties across the state. The event ranks as the biggest, single day volunteer event on the planet, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
California Coastal Commission officials have released the following information for this year’s effort, which will take on a little bit of a different look, in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines.
When: Each Saturday in September from 9 a.m. to noon in most locations. If Saturdays do not work, volunteers are encouraged to clean up whenever is convenient for them.
Where: Cleanups will take place in neighborhoods across California. The commission will provide regular updates and maps of cleanup locations throughout the month. For more details, go to: www.coastalcleanupday.org.
Why: “The idea behind the cleanup this year is pretty simple actually: everything in California flows downhill to the coast,” said the Commission’s Executive Director Jack Ainsworth. “We may not be able to visit or gather at the cleanup sites that our volunteers have taken such good care of over these many years, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have a positive impact on the health of the coast and ocean.”
How: Visit www.coastalcleanupday.org or call (800) COAST-4U for more information.
Who: California Coastal Cleanup Day event is presented by the California Coastal Commission with lead sponsorship from Crystal Geyser Natural Alpine Spring Water by CG Roxane. Additional support comes from Oracle, Green Polly, the Whale Tail Specialty License Plate, and the Protect our Coast and Oceans Fund. The artwork was created and generously donated by Mekanism.
California Coastal Cleanup Day 2020 is supported by the California Coastal Commission, California State Parks Foundation, and Ocean Conservancy. This event is made possible by the hard work of hundreds of local non-profits and government agencies throughout the state and tens of thousands of volunteers annually.
The Commission is committed to protecting and enhancing California’s coast and ocean for present and future generations. It does so through careful planning and regulation of environmentally-sustainable development, strong public participation, education, and effective intergovernmental coordination. The Coastal Cleanup Day Program is part of its effort to raise public awareness of marine and coastal resources and promote coastal stewardship.
