At 9 a.m. Surfrider Foundation Plans Post-Fourth of July Clean-Ups in Ocean Beach, Mission Beach, PB and Oceanside
From San Diego Surfrider
There’s nothing like celebrating the Fourth of July on a beautiful San Diego beach. However, visit that same shoreline the morning after, and the sight is significantly less lovely thanks to the thousands of pounds of trash left behind.
Trash, plus marshmallows if you happen to be in Ocean Beach after the annual marshmallow fight. Thankfully, the Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego County Chapter will be leading the way in cleaning up the mess.
On July 5, 2013, the nonprofit invites beach-lovers of all ages to join the “Morning After Mess,” cleanup hosted from 9 to 11 a.m. at the following locations:
- Ocean Beach Pier,
- Belmont Park in Mission Beach,
- Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach and
- South Harbor Jetty in Oceanside.
Here are more details:
- Bags and gloves will be provided,
- volunteers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bag, bucket or gloves to cut down on single-use plastic waste.
- Participants under the age of 18 will need a parent or legal guardian to sign for them.
- There is no need to pre-register and
- the first 40 volunteers at each location will get a free hat.
- This year’s event is sponsored by radio station 102.1FM KPRi and healthy snack company Clif Bar.
- Surfrider will be hosting cleanup sites along with longtime event partners San Diego Coastkeeper and I Love a Clean San Diego.
Never underestimate the impact of a Surfrider volunteer!
Last year’s annual Morning After Mess cleanup saw a turnout of over 500 people. Together, volunteers on beaches up and down the coastline collected 2,607 pounds of trash and 191 pounds of recyclables – much of which was plastic. The trash collected also included 559 plastic bags and 13,200 cigarette butts. Without the amazing volunteer effort, all this litter may have washed into the sea where it would add to the already critical pollution problem devastating the world’s oceans.
San Diego Chapter Coordinator, Haley Haggerstone, says:
“We’ve seen a significant decrease in the amount trash collected at our annual Morning After Mess since the drinking ban was put into effect in 2008, but there is still garbage to be found, and we need volunteers to help with our cleanup efforts. We’re asking everyone to help keep our beaches clean because it’s kind of a big deal!”
Surfrider Foundation is also working hard to stop the problem before it becomes the ‘Morning After Mess.’ Through successful campaigns like Rise Above Plastics and Hold Onto Your Butt, the organization uses education and community outreach to cut down on single-use plastics and cigarette butts before they reach beaches.
For more information go to Surfrider Foundation San Diego County Chapter’s ‘Morning After Mess’ cleanups on July 5, or contact Chapter Coordinator, Haley Haggerstone at haley@surfridersd.org or (619) 929-5350.
For more on the Surfrider Foundation’s San Diego County Chapter.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s so sad that people can’t clean up after themselves. Take your crap with you when you leave, after all you brought it onto the beach when you came.
It’s really very simple… “If you pack it in, Pack it out. Leave only your Footprints.”
Common sense goes a long way. Why should we have to pick up after lazy people?
I have picked up trash, garbage, dog dirt, cigarette butts, bags waste, old food containers in Ca or where ever I have lived all my adult life, usually on a daily basis when I am out walking. I pull weeds, cover graffitti, take down old signs off poles, take used christmas trees to Robb field people leave in alleys, break down old furniture and trash left in alleys. You name it, I have probably taken care of it. Why ? Because I care. And I am not Lazy. I want a cleaner OB. My 2 alleys are really nice. How about your Alleys? How are they? I have recycled old tv’s and electronics left in alleys by lazy people. Big thing is the “popcorn” used for packages sent, People just put them in the trash or recycle. I take them when I find them to a Mail boxes store to be reused. If not, on trash day it’s all over the alley.
I take wire hangars back to the Dry cleaners. People leave hangars in the alley.
In conclusion, Lets keep our Alley’s clean too, just like the Beaches. It helps us all.
Being Clean is not that difficult. Just takes a desire and practice. Also, Put your trash cans away. They do not belong in the alleys. Replace the lids. Environmental services has plenty of lids and the brads that hold them on the trash cans. Open cans are a health hazard. Yuk…When did society just become so selfish ? Why do we have to always pick up others garbage ? Why ? Because we care and we were brought up right. I don’t just practice a Clean San Diego during a Surf Rider Promotion, I do it Daily. Do you ?
And people, Please take down your Own Garage Sale signs too. I am tired of doing it.
You said EVERYTHING that I was going to!! I’m also sick of picking up after other people, but if I don’t, I’ll have to live in a trashy looking neighborhood.
Hooray for Surfrider – given them support by showing up.
nobody out in the line up until the beach is cleaned.
Just to clarify…headline states 11 @ the OB Pier, article states 9-11…don’t want to be late to the post-party…
Barb – thanks for the correction; yes, the clean-up starts at the OB Pier at 9am.
I usually pick up trash when I walk the beach anyway. It’s not up to me to teach the world to pick up their trash but it is up to me to do my part… It just feels good. What a great party to go to!