Press Release

Coastal Cleanup Day Makes a splash in San Diego county

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

posted: September 19, 2009

San Diego, CA – Volunteers came out in record numbers this morning to help beautify and restore San Diego’s coastline, waterways, and open space areas as part of the 25th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD). While the dust is still settling on this event, coordinators at San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love A Clean San Diego have some impressive figures to report. With 85% of cleanup sites reporting, a total of 9,587 volunteers participated in the cleanup effort at a record 80 cleanup sites throughout San Diego County and Tijuana. These volunteer removed well over/an estimated 65,000 pounds of debris from over 120 miles of land and even underwater at two dive sites. Volunteers found common items including cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps, plastic bags, and unusual items such as an ATM machine, a fake nose, and pickles.

This year’s “Cleanup Central” was at Belmont Park in Mission Beach, where 759 volunteers combed the beach and bayside, as well as local streets and alleyways. Together, these volunteers collected 1360.5 pounds of trash and 62.5 pounds of recycling. Supervisor Greg Cox and City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer each presented proclamations to CCD coordinators, San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love A Clean San Diego, while volunteer teams from Sempra, Sanyo, Bank of America, Lincoln Military Housing, Sontek, and others looked on. Volunteers received reusable tote bags to help encourage sustainable daily habits, as well as free ride passes to Belmont Park in Mission Beach to reward their hard work.

Local environmental stewardship is important to achieving a safe and healthy region. “Volunteering for Coastal Cleanup Day is a great opportunity to give back to the community” said CCD volunteer Amanda Sousa. “It is important to be part of the solution not the problem of marine debris.” Marine conservation experts agree that CCD decreases the amount of trash that eventually ends up in the ocean. “Marine debris is the most widespread problem facing out coast and ocean, and it’s entirely preventable,” said Greg Helms, the Southern California Program Manager of the Ocean Conservancy. “People caused this problem, and today the community is being part of the solution.”

The efforts of volunteers locally greatly contributed to a successful CCD statewide. A release issued by the California Coastal Commission this afternoon reported that 56,877 volunteers collected 801,937 pounds of debris throughout the state. All reported statistics are initial figures and are expected to increase as all cleanup sites report their totals from the day’s event. Final figures will be posted on www.cleanupday.org when available. CCD is an integral part of the International Coastal Cleanup, which joined together hundreds of thousands of volunteers from over 100 countries, all working toward a common goal: protecting the health of our shared ocean and waterways.

This event would not be possible without the generous support of local businesses and government agencies. Title sponsors of this year’s cleanup in San Diego County included the County Board of Supervisors through the support of Supervisor Pam Slater-Price and Supervisor Greg Cox, as well as Think Blue – City of San Diego Storm Water Department. Critical financial support was also provided by Allied Waste Services, who provided and serviced dumpsters at many cleanup sites, as well as the Sempra Energy Foundation who registered 1,500 staff members and their families throughout Southern California. Other CCD sponsors included: Qualcomm, Kashi, Belmont Park, Wavehouse, Alaskan Brewery, Bank of America, Harrah’s Rincon Casino, Sanyo, Lincoln Military Housing, DMAX Engineering, San Diego Bay Watershed Group, Fitness & Wellness Insurance, General Dynamics NASSCO, Dog Beach Dog Wash, SeaLife Aquarium, SeaWorld Adventure Park, Birch Aquarium, as well as Hornblower Cruises & Events. Statewide support was provided by Whole Foods Market, Crystal Geyser, and the California Coastal Commission.

County coordinators I Love A Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper are proud of the accomplishments made locally and encouraged by the overwhelming volunteer support. While CCD happens just once a year, it is important that all San Diegans take steps to help restore and protect our ocean and inland waterways each and every day. Preserving these precious resources through pollution prevention, waste reduction, recycling, and conservation will make a difference for future generations and current environmental issues. To learn more about CCD and other year-round environmental stewardship programs, please visit www.sdcoastkeeper.org or www.cleansd.org.