Thousands turn out for California Coastal Cleanup Day effort

Thousands of volunteers across Orange County set out on Saturday with one collective goal: Clean up the coast.

Some people combed the beach to find debris. Others scoured inland parks and waterways, hoping to nab trash before it could make its way downstream and into the ocean, polluting the water for people and sea creatures alike.

Saturday was the 41st year for California Coastal Cleanup Day, with volunteers statewide picking up trash by the tons.

The gathering is considered the state’s largest, single-day volunteer effort and coincides with International Coastal Cleanup Day, making it part of a massive global undertaking.

Early figures, with 40% of the clean up sites reporting, showed an estimated 19,987 volunteers showed up throughout the state, scooping up nearly 140,000 pounds of trash and an additional 38,646 pounds of recyclable materials, for a total of about 89 tons.

For the first-time ever, there were cleanups in all of the state’s 50 counties, as far inland as Lake Tahoe.

This year’s “Trashure Hunt,” brought giveaways, with prizes like hotel stays, tickets to theme parks and gift cards up for grabs.

“We’re very excited about this year’s creative twist on Coastal Cleanup Day,” said Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge, in an announcement. “Californians have repeatedly shown up to protect the state’s iconic shoreline, and this is our way of celebrating that dedication.”

This year’s “Most Unusual Item” came from Santa Rosa Creek in Sonoma County — a green “Emotional Support Pickle” made of yarn, holding a sign that read: “I will always be around to let you know that you are a BIG DILL!”

Orange County Coastkeeper was the region’s coordinator with dozens of sites on Saturday for people to volunteer at. It also hosted one of the largest gatherings at Huntington State Beach, drawing about 400 people, with a sustainability fair, local exhibitors and nonprofit organizations on hand to talk about their efforts.

The statewide cleanup day also serves as an important tool for tracking data on pollution that can be presented to decision-makers at the legislative levels.

Since the event started in 1985, about 1.8 million volunteers have helped remove more than 13,500 tons of trash, the most common items include cigarette filters, food wrappers, plastic straws and other utensils.