Peninsula: Cigarettes Worst Culprit As Ca Coastal Cleanup Trash

SAN CARLOS, CA — Californians do love their beaches — from San Diego in the south north to Crescent City and beyond to the shores of Lake Tahoe.

That's why a multitude of agencies tasked with beautifying and protecting them enlist an army of volunteers each year to spread the love and share the responsibility of the tremendous burden by participating in California Coastal Cleanup Day set for Sept. 21.

In San Carlos alone, at least 5,000 volunteers are expected to turn out.

In 1993, California Coastal Cleanup Day was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "largest garbage collection" ever organized with 50,405 volunteers.

Since then, the reach of Coastal Cleanup Day has steadily spread inland. Most of the marine debris found on the beaches often originates as urban trash or street litter, so this continuing effort to stop trash where it starts has actually increased the amount of trash picked up per person each year.

Guess what item was picked up most frequently between 1988-2017, according to the California Coastal Commission? Hint: It's been called a "nasty habit" that most often trashes the beaches and clogs the storm drains. Give a look:

1. Cigarettes and their filters with 7.5 million
2. Food wrappers and containers with 2.1 million
3. Caps and lids with 1.8 million
4. Bags (paper and plastic) with 1.5 million
5. Cups, plates, utensils with 1,113,129
6. Straws and stirrers with 863,481
7. Glass beverage bottles with 679,709
8. Plastic beverage bottles with 554,825
9. Beverage cans with 496,117
10. Construction material with 367,729

While the California Coastal Commission did not run beach cleanups until 1985, efforts to keep the shorelines free from plastics and other debris had been underway in California for quite some time.

In the mid-1970s, the Arcata Recycling Center under the leadership of Wes Chesbro, who has since served a long career in the California State Legislature, began running beach cleanups in search of recyclable material.

California Coastal Cleanup Day was first organized by the Coastal Commission, but the idea of a statewide cleanup event did not come from California. In 1984, Oregon resident Judy Neilson had grown concerned over the amount of plastic debris she saw littering the Oregon coast. In that October, Judy organized the first statewide beach cleanup event, calling it the "Plague of Plastics."

California watched, admired, and in 1985, emulated Neilson's efforts with its first statewide Coastal Cleanup Day. Nearly 2,500 Californians joined in the initial cleanup, and the program has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since. In 1986, The Ocean Conservancy —then known as the Center for Marine Conservation — ran its first Coastal Cleanup in Texas. In later years, the conservancy became the coordinating agency for the International Coastal Cleanup to help spread the concept to nations around the world.

Prospective volunteering wanting to sign up for the day's cleanup efforts may select a site near them by visiting the following agencies:

• City of San Carlos
• City of Redwood City
• smchealth.org/CCD. #CCDSMC
• California Coastal Commission
• County of San Mateo - Government
• City of Brisbane, CA-City Hall
• Burlingame City Hall
• Daly City Government
• The City of East Palo Alto Community Health and Environment
• City of Foster City, CA - Government
• City of Millbrae
• City of Menlo Park Government
• City of Pacifica
• The City of San Mateo
• The City of South San Francisco – Government Flows To Bay
• San Mateo County Parks