Trash Day Is Coming | Join the 40th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day on September 21

California’s largest volunteer event — Coastal Cleanup Day — is back on Saturday, September 21, and this year’s 40th annual endeavor is shaping up to be the largest one yet. 

“Last year, over 1,200 community members from Gaviota to Carpinteria picked up 2.87 tons of litter. We hope to beat that record in September,” shared Jill Cloutier, Public Relations Director of Explore Ecology, the Santa Barbara–based environmental education nonprofit that organizes the event locally in partnership with the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management, with support from the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Solvang. 

Part of a statewide event organized by the California Coastal Commission, Coastal Cleanup Day is a global day of action that empowers people around the world to become part of the solution to ocean pollution. The concept is simple: Volunteers work together to show their favorite beach or creek some TLC by removing litter from 9 a.m. to noon on September 21. Pre-registration is requested but not required (see bit.ly/3ZiqhyU). Sites range from Carpinteria to Guadalupe, and volunteers of all ages can participate. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own cleanup materials, if possible, to reduce waste and decrease the cleanup’s plastic footprint. If volunteers don’t have supplies, there will be plenty available at each site.

Not only are volunteers helping to keep our beaches clean, but they are also helping to gather important data from litter found on Coastal Cleanup Day. “Coastal Cleanup Day may take place on one day of the year, but its impact is so much greater than that,” stated the Coastal Commission’s Eben Schwartz, Statewide Director of California Coastal Cleanup Day. “The education that the cleanup provides, as well as the constituency that it has built over these past 40 years, has helped generate new laws and regulations that will stem the sources of our plastic pollution challenge. Volunteers at the cleanup are creating ripples that can be felt throughout the year, and we are so proud to help support their efforts.”

Ready to take action? Visit exploreecology.org/coastal-cleanup-day to sign up for your favorite site. By pre-registering, you’ll be automatically entered in a drawing for a chance to win exciting prizes donated by local businesses.

This year’s roster of more than 30 cleanup locations from Carpinteria to Guadalupe includes:

• Arroyo Burro Beach
• Butterfly Beach
• Campus Point
• Carpinteria State Beach
• Channel Islands — private cleanup
• Devereux
• East Beach — Garden St./Chase Palm Area
• East Beach — Volleyball Courts
• El Capitan State Beach
• Gaviota State Beach
• Goleta Beach
• Hammond’s Beach
• Haskell’s Beach
• Jalama Beach
• Jelly Bowl Beach
• Leadbetter Beach
• North Campus Open Space
• Oak Park
• Refugio State Beach
• Rincon County Beach/Bates
• San Jose Creek
• Santa Claus Lane
• West Beach
• Ellwood Beach
• Hollister Ranch — private cleanup
• Sandspit, Harbor, and Parking Lot
• Guadalupe Dunes
• Lookout Park
• Carpinteria Creeks
• Shoreline Park
• Isla Vista Streets
• More Mesa
• Tajiguas Beach

Coastal Cleanup Day takes place on Saturday, September 21, from 9 a.m. to noon on more than 30 sites throughout Santa Barbara County. For more information, see exploreecology.org/coastal-cleanup-day.