Here are some tips for this holiday weekend to keep our beaches clean:
1) Only take reusable items to the beach (avoid styrofoam coolers and single-use plastics)
2) Enjoy your bash but can your trash (be sure to toss any trash into a bin and recycle what you can)
3) Help cleanup after (walk the tideline early on Sunday the 5th and/or join the Morning After Mess Cleanup Day on July 6th from 8-11am)
A group of San Diego local environmental organizations, community groups, and others united as the San Diego Clean Beach Coalition (SDCBC) are asking the public to help prevent the unsightly and dangerous pollution problem that plagues the area’s beaches during July 4 and other major summer holidays. The group wants people visiting the beach to remember to dispose of trash properly in trashcans, trash bags and recycling receptacles.
After July 4 last year, volunteers picked up over 4,000 pounds of trash and 28,000 cigarette butts from the sands of six beaches throughout San Diego County. Thanks to the support of many local businesses, the Coalition has purchase over 125 temporary trash and recycling receptacles which will be placed strategically throughout Mission Beach, Mission Bay, and Pacific Beach. These bins will give beachgoers an easy and convenient solution to disposing of their trash, as opposed to creating more beach litter.
“”Litter on the beach is not only an eye sore for San Diego but it can be harmful to people and marine life,” said SDCBC member Bill Hickman. “No one wants to be cut their foot on a can or sharp object that may be left behind. We also want to prevent litter from becoming marine debris where some birds, fish and turtles can mistake it for food with dire consequences.”
The SDCBC formed last year to develop and execute a comprehensive plan to prevent beach litter during the holiday. The coalition is a joint partnership between I Love A Clean San Diego, San Diego Coastkeeper, the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, FreePB.org, and City of San Diego lifeguards, police, and park rangers.
The partners of the coalition are working together again this year to reduce the amount of litter left strewn on San Diego beaches on the 4th of July holiday and throughout the summer. SDCBC is working to create awareness of the resources available for beachgoers to properly dispose of their trash during holiday celebrations; place additional trash and recycling receptacles along popular Pacific and Mission beaches for the public’s use during the 4th of July and Labor Day weekends, increase recycling; and educate people planning to visit the beaches about the rules and regulations at local beaches.
The public can also pitch in by helping clean the beach of trash after the Fourth of July weekend at the “Morning After Mess” beach cleanup event on Monday, July 6. From 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., the Morning After Mess event will organize volunteers to assist workers picking up the massive amounts of trash left at five San Diego County beaches from Oceanside to Ocean Beach over the Fourth of July holiday.
The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition is looking for funders to help support this year’s pollution prevention initatives. Specific focus will be placed on a summer education campaign to reduce litter habits as well as infrastructual changes to give beach visitors more opportunities to properly dispose of their trash and recyclables.
If you or your business is interested in helping to support this years fight to keep our beaches clean, please contact the Coalition. There are many benefits associated wtih your sponsorship support. Check back soon for the full sponsorship packet.
The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition is working hard to provide San Diegans with comprehensive pollution prevention solutions for the 2009 4th of July holiday weekend. With this years holiday falling on a Saturday, it’s important that all beach visitors take extra steps to protect the quality of our beaches throughout the holiday weekend…and all summer-long. This year’s plans include purchasing and placing extra trash bins in the Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Mission Bay, and Ocean Beach areas. The Coalition will also be providing recycling receptacles giving beach visitors the opportunity to recycle, something currently not available on most San Diego beaches.
If you have a suggestion of other ways that the San Diego Clean Beach Coalition can assist in protecting local shorelines this summer, please contact any of the organizations listed below. Please check back soon for more details as planning continues.
The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition is made up of local non-profits committed to preserving local shorelines. Coalition members include FreePB.org, I Love A Clean San Diego, San Diego Coastkeeper, and the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.
The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition (SDCBC) is a collaboration of local non-profit organizations and city agencies focused on coastal stewardship, raising awareness of beach litter issues and preventing marine debris.
In anticipation of this year’s 4th of July festivities and a busy summer season, non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and community groups have joined forces to form the SDCBC in an effort to prevent the hoards of litter that contaminate our treasured coastline every summer.
SDCBC objectives include: creating awareness of the resources available for beachgoers to properly dispose of their trash during holiday celebrations, educating the community about pollution prevention through our “Don’t Forget” media campaign, increasing recycling, and educating people planning to visit the beaches about the rules and regulations at local beaches.
Enjoy your bash, but can your trash!
This Fourth of July, hundreds of thousands of San Diegans and tourists alike will flock to the beaches and bays for some fun in the sun over their holiday weekend. The CBC would like to ask all of you beach-lovers to pick up after yourselves so that we all can keep San Diego’s famous coastline pristine and beautiful for the rest of the summer and years to come. As part of the SDCBC objectives, the partners are working together to place additional public trash and recycling receptacles along Pacific, Mission, and Ocean beaches, as well as Mission Bay, over the holiday weekend. By always throwing your trash in a nearby trashcan, or bringing your own trash bag with you to the beach, you are respecting the shoreline and San Diego as a whole. If you forget a trash bag, the SDCBC can provide one for you. Just stop by the nearest lifeguard tower for trash bags. Whether you swim, surf, sunbathe, or bbq, keep the beaches you love clean and healthy to preserve your San Diego lifestyle all summer long!
Due to the sheer volume of people and the trash that comes along with everyone at the beach, trash cans often overflow quickly, giving everyone an excuse not to pick up any of their waste. This leads to a stadium mentality, where everyone throws their trash on the ground, thinking it will be someone else’s responsibility. In addition, traditionally beaches do not have recycling available for plastic bottles, cans, or glass causing all of these items to be wasted in a trash can. Recycling is extremely important, as it saves natural resources including plastics made from oil, and additionally saves space in our already over-crowded landfills.