Thousands of locals will come to the beach on Saturday, but instead of a towel and a cooler, they’ll be bringing their buckets to collect for a cause.
For the 35th year, Santa Monica-based environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay will serve as the Los Angeles County Coordinator of Coastal Cleanup Day, an international endeavor to protect oceans, watersheds and wildlife. More than 60 cleanup sites exist throughout the county, including eight local sites for residents in Santa Monica, Venice and Pacific Palisades.
From 9am to 12pm, sites will be open at the following locations:
- Santa Monica State Beach, North Beach/Pier, Tower 1550
- Santa Monica State Beach, Bay St/Inkwell Monument, Tower 20
- Santa Monica State Beach, Ocean Park Blvd.
- Venice Beach, Rose Ave.
- Venice Pier Beach - North
- Will Rogers State Beach South, Ginger Rogers Beach, Tower 18
- Will Rogers State Beach South, Tower 15
The Ocean Park Blvd. site will be captained by student advocates from Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, including Samohi’s Team Marine. Heal the Bay Senior Director of Community Outreach and Connection, Meredith McCarthy, said the organization picked familiar sites for students to come together for the endeavor.
"It’s certainly a concerted effort from many different groups across the county that come together to make Coastal Cleanup Day happen," McCarthy added.
At the Pier site, State Senator Ben Allen and Heal the Bay CEO Tracy Quinn will be on-hand, bringing further attention to the cause. McCarthy stated that it’s an "exciting moment" that many different areas of the community are "looking at our relationship with plastic and trying to figure out how we can reduce our massive footprint."
"The United States consumes more plastic than any other nation in the world, and so we have a big responsibility to really rethink how we use so much waste and then create so much waste on the back end," McCarthy said. "And so I think one of the most powerful things about Coastal Cleanup Day [is] you really start to get a sense of [daily] habits and daily lives [that] are reflected in the trash that [is picked] up in the terms of single-use plastic addiction."
Out of the 60 sites, the Pier is typically the most-attended in the county, with over 1,000 volunteers expected in the morning hours. The area is always in need of a cleanup, particularly after the release of Heal the Bay’s annual Beach Report Card in July that put the Pier as the third-most polluted beach along the West Coast.
Last year’s Coastal Cleanup Day had over 7,100 volunteers remove 16,000 pounds of trash and recycling from Los Angeles neighborhoods, parks, trails and beaches. While cigarette butts were the most common item, small plastic pieces and styrofoam have been increasing items. Volunteers have also found unusual items such as a white wedding dress, a pumpkin full of hard boiled eggs, a $100 bill torn in half and a World War II-era gas mask.
Since 1990, Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers have removed over 1,948,640 pounds of trash and 101,140 pounds of recycling; with Heal the Bay expecting the 2 millionth pound of trash to be collected this year. McCarthy calls the number a "love-hate thing," an accomplishment that still acts as a harrowing reminder of the debris Los Angeles County faces each year.
"It’s a sobering number, for sure, but it also reflects the amount of love and support and desire for the community to get a handle on our marine pollution problem," McCarthy said.
Parking will be given at a discounted price at both the Ocean Park and Pier sites, and Heal the Bay asks volunteers to bring their own bucket if possible. Registration can take place on-site or on healthebay.org.
thomas@smdp.com
