On Sept. 19, residents up and down the Central Coast celebrated the 25th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day by collecting more than two tons of trash and recyclables, according to an announcement from the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department.
A total of 687 volunteers cleaned 23 beaches and creeks in a three-hour period, picking up 2,879 pounds of trash and 1,245 pounds of recyclables, according to the press release.
California Coastal Cleanup Day is an international event that takes place the third Saturday of every September.
This year, an estimated 70,000 Californians came out to clean up more than 800 sites statewide, and collected nearly 1 million pounds of garbage.
According to oceanconservancy.org, data from the event will be analyzed and distributed to government agencies and other organizations around the world to help direct policy and funding to preserve oceans, rivers, and lakes.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 1, 2009.