Get ready for what’s being dubbed a “Trashure Hunt.”
California Coastal Cleanup Day marks its 41st year on Saturday, Sept. 20, with an estimated 50,000 volunteers at hundreds of locations expected to show up to remove trash and debris from the state’s beaches, waterways, parks and public spaces.
With rain in the forecast ahead of the weekend, there will be plenty of debris washing down toward the beach that needs to be cleaned up before it gets into the ocean, causing harm to wildlife and the environment.
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.
Organizers have a fun twist this year, adding the winning of prizes to the trash scavenger hunt — everything from hotel stays, tickets to theme parks, gift cards and more.
“We’re very excited about this year’s creative twist on Coastal Cleanup Day,” Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge said in an announcement. “Californians have repeatedly shown up to protect the state’s iconic shoreline, and this is our way of celebrating that dedication.”
Site captains will be hiding a special “trash” item at selected cleanup sites — what to look for will be announced ahead of time on social media. The volunteer who finds the item will be able to turn it in for a prize, said Eben Schwartz, Coastal Cleanup spokesperson.
Locally, nonprofit organizations are busy spearheading planning and signing up volunteers for dozens of cleanup sites both inland and at the coast in Orange County.
Orange County Coastkeeper is leading the charge throughout region, while Heal the Bay is organizing up and down Los Angeles’ coast and inland waterways and parks.
While each site location has various volunteers and event organizers, Coastkeeper and Heal the Bay help with supplies and tallying data to report to the state coastal agency.
While much of the effort is focused on the waterline, volunteers embark on missions inland to get the trash picked up ahead of the wet winter season and it is washed down to the ocean and pollutes the waters.
Winter rains in California flush trash and other debris through rivers, creeks and channels from areas hundreds of miles from the ocean, so volunteers inland as far as Riverside join the efforts.
“The goal is to remove most of the trash in our area before it can get to the coast and the ocean before the first flush happens,” Orange County Coastkeeper spokesman Matt Sylvester said.
Last year, an estimated 3,400 volunteers turned out throughout Orange County, scooping up 18,000 pounds of trash at 38 events, with a similar number expected at this year’s event.
One of the largest gatherings will be at Huntington State Beach, which will have a sustainability fair, local exhibitors and nonprofit organizations on hand to talk about their efforts.
And of course, volunteers will spend the morning scouring the sand to pluck out the plastics and other debris at the beach.
Another big one happens in Upper Newport Bay, put on by OC Parks. Some 10 “mini clean up sites” along the 11-mile loop around the bay, are expected to draw an estimated 1,000 people. In addition to picking up trash, volunteers will be removing invasive, non-native plants.
Inland water flows into the bay, bringing trash along for the journey that often gets stuck in the estuary and other brush along the waterway.
“The impact is incredible,” Sylvester said. “You’re out there and you have your hands in the environmental movement and you are doing something to make your community a better place. But in addition to that, it’s bringing the issue to the forefront of your mind.”
Living in a place as pristine as Orange County can make people forget about the troubles plaguing the ocean, Sylvester said. But the annual event is a stark reminder that in just one day, thousands of pounds of trash can be found.
“(The volunteers) can start looking at the solutions that are a bit bigger than just one cleanup,” Sylvester noted.
The statewide cleanup day also serves as an important tool to track data to show trash trends, so it can be presented to decision makers at the legislative levels.
“We have these state-wide measures we’re pushing toward and this is such a good data set — most common is going to be bottle caps, wrappers on the beach, stuff that’s washed down and things left by beachgoers,” Sylvester said.
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.
There are always the oddities, as well. Last year, someone found a moped, another person found a yearbook from the 1940s, and a beer keg-sized perfume bottle, Sylvester said.
At a Santiago Canyon Watershed event, the Fire Safe Council of East Orange County Canyon will bring people out for a typical cleanup, but there will also be big bins on hand for bulk items, e-waste and a “chipper” disposal for green waste — important ahead of the fire season following a dry summer.
“It’s always important to have fire clearance,” said organizer Steve Kerrigan, who also works as a reserve firefighter for Silverado Canyon Fire Safe Council. “Anytime you can get rid of any vegetation away from your home, especially coming into the Santa Ana wind season.”
Stand Up To Trash is hosting events into the evening, starting with a morning yoga session, beach cleanup and a “lunch and learn” in the Dana Point Harbor.
At sunset, “A Sea-nematic Night for Change” brings the documentary “Plastic People,” which exposes the hidden health and environmental consequences of plastic pollution. It will be shown at Nordhavn Yachts in Dana Point Harbor.
Following the film, attendees will have the chance to join a Q&A with a leading plastic scientist.
There are cleanups planned at Yorba Regional Park in Anaheim, Hart Park in Orange, San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, the Laguna Hills Community Center, Descanso Park in San Juan Capistrano and more than 30 locations around Orange County.
To find a location near you, go to coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/ccd.html#map