Join Coastal Cleanup Day this Saturday, September 19

Citizens throughout Alameda County are gearing up for this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19. The annual volunteer event is the largest in the state. In 2014, nearly 67,000 participants removed more than 1,190,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from California’s beaches, lakes, and waterways. To view a calendar of local cleanup and restoration events visit www.cleanwaterprogram.org/residents/volunteer.

Only a small amount of marine debris enters waterways directly. The vast majority of litter—up to 80%—originates inland, where it is carried by rainwater, street runoff and wind into the storm drain system. From there litter travels into creeks, the Bay and the ocean, as stormwater generally does not pass through a water treatment plant. Plastic bags and other lightweight plastic litter items are particularly hazardous because they float, entangling and poisoning marine wildlife that mistakes the items for food. Less visible but equally serious is the negative impact plastic marine debris has on the food chain: Plastic fragments can concentrate and transport chemical pollutants into the marine food web, and potentially into human diets.

Besides helping clean up litter from creeks and shorelines, the Clean Water Program encourages citizens to stop litter at the source by always placing trash in garbage cans or recycling containers, buying reusable instead of disposable products and minimizing packaging as much as possible. For more information about the Clean Water Program visit www.cleanwaterprogram.org and consider joining the Program’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CleanWaterProgram.

Photo Credit: Clean Water Program of Alameda County