County Programs

2009 California Coastal Cleanup Day

Completed September 19^th, 2009

Coastal Cleanup Day is a local and international event held every September that helps to keep our beaches and waterways clean.

This year the results are in and they are great! There were 736 volunteers who collected 4695 pounds of debris that was polluting our local waterways. That is almost 200 more volunteers and more than 2000 more pounds of debris than last year!

Thank you to everyone who participated. It wouldn't be possible without you.

Every volunteer is a hard worker, but three sites stood out for the amount of trash each volunteer collected.

One of our first Creek sites for Coastal Cleanup Day, Zanja De Cota Creek hosted by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians removed 581 pounds of debris from the creek on the reservation. The 25 volunteers that showed up there hauled out an impressive 23 pounds each.

Haskell's Beach had 16 volunteers, this time largely from the Bacara Resort. They managed to pick up 493 pounds of debris, or 31 pounds per person, including tires and lobster traps.

Most impressively, Tajiguas Beach also had only 16 volunteers from the Paradise Dive Club but collected 796 pounds of debris! That is a mighty 50 pounds per person and the most debris collected from any single site in this year's event!

If you missed this year's event but would still like to pitch in this year, please participate in Creek Week and sign up for a Creek Cleanup!

Next year's event will be here before you know it, so mark your calendars! Coastal Cleanup Day 2010 is Saturday, September 25th, 2010 from 9 a.m. until Noon.

If you are interested in helping to keep our beaches and ocean clean, please take a look at:

• Where did we clean this year? (Beaches by Area, Alphabetical Beach List)
• How can you volunteer early this year?
• How can you become a Beach or Creek Captain next year?
• Additional information from the California Coastal Commission and the Ocean Conservancy.
• Learn about Last Year's Event.

Do you want to volunteer?

If you are interested in volunteering, just visit our beaches page or pick a beach from the list below and click on the link for the Beach Captain closer to the event. Since the information is from last year, the beach captain may change. You should automatically have an e-mail pop up with questions to answer.

Volunteers will be given gloves and plastic bags, and encouraged to work in teams. In addition, volunteers will be given a sheet that lists different items and materials and asked to mark the number of items and materials that are picked up.

If you are willing to go wherever we need volunteers please e-mail your name, contact information, the beach you would like to clean, the number of people participating and the group or company you are a part of to jsimeon(at)cosbpw.net. Make sure to put "Coastal Cleanup Day" somewhere in the subject.

Want to be a Beach or Creek Captain next year?

If you don't see your favorite beach listed and are interested in being a Beach Captain this or next year, please email with your beach information. Make sure to include the information asked for in the email. You must be eighteen or over to be a Beach Captain. More information about being a beach captain coming soon.

This Year's Alphabetical Site List:

Last Year's Event: 2008 California Coastal Cleanup Day.

Coastal Cleanup Day takes place throughout the State of California and is conducted in conjunction with International Coastal Cleanup Day. California's Coastal Cleanup Day Program, organized by the California Coastal Commission and other cooperating organizations throughout the state, encourages people to learn about and actively participate in conserving natural resources.

The goals of this event are to raise awareness about the issues of ocean and coastal conservation, to pick up litter, to encourage recycling, and to promote community pride. Coastal Cleanup Day allows people to take responsibility for their local waterways and creates an awareness that individual actions do make a difference.

The County Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, coordinates this event for Santa Barbara County. On September 20, 2008, over 515 volunteers participated in California Coastal Cleanup Day in Santa Barbara County from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. On that day, volunteers picked up approximately 2,070 pounds of trash and 582 pounds of recyclables from 19 local beaches stretching some 35 miles along our coastline.

Cigarette butts remained the most common item found. Among other trash items collected were numerous lobster traps, a small boat hull, an I.V. drip bag, a suitcase, a surfboard, and car tires.

Last Year's Beaches

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Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division

Last updated: November 4, 2009