“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.” – Rachel Carson

The 23rd Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day was a huge success! More than 1,300 volunteers removed a total of 4,779 pounds of marine debris from our local beaches! The cleanup effort stretched over 67 miles, including sites as far north as Piedras Blancas Lighthouse and as far south as Point Sal. Click here to see cleanup results for each site.

Some of the most unusual finds this year include a balloon weather station at the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, five pounds of fireworks at the Pismo Dunes, a fishing net buoy with Oregon license tags at Montana de Oro, and a 300-pound 5-feet high tractor tire from 24th Street in Cayucos.

The data collected on Coastal Cleanup Day about the types of marine debris found on our beaches will be analyzed to further prevention and education efforts at the local, state, and global levels. For example, from the data collected on Coastal Cleanup Day, scientists estimate that 80% of marine debris comes from land based sources, not the ocean. So whether you're at the beach or shopping downtown remember to always pickup trash, because eventually it will make its way to the ocean.

About Coastal Cleanup Day

The purpose of Coastal Cleanup Day is to remove marine debris from the state’s beaches and waterways, identify its sources and change behavior that causes pollution. The first California Coastal Cleanup Day was in 1985 with 2,500 volunteers turning out to help. Since then, the event has grown to become International Coastal Cleanup Day, the largest volunteer event of its kind in the state. Last year, 358,617 volunteers removed some seven million pounds of trash from 34,560 miles of coastline around the globe. California Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers accounts for 11% of the world with an estimated 50,375 people in 2006.

“Marine debris is one of the worse threats to our oceans with 80% of it coming from land-based sources, making the Coastal Cleanup Day an important time for people to increase their awareness about protecting our marine environment,” says ECOSLO’s Executive Director, Morgan Rafferty.

Supported by the California Coastal Commission, ECOSLO coordinates Coastal Cleanup Day in San Luis Obispo County. The beach is such an important part of San Luis Obispo County and ECOSLO feels that it must be preserved. Marine debris not only destroys our oceans and beaches, but also our creeks, streams and other waterways.

More Information

If you would like more information about how you can get involved, please contact us at (805) 544-1777 or info@ecoslo.org.

Click here for a map of all the local cleanup sites.

For more information about the statewide effort, see the California Coastal Commission's Coastal Cleanup Day website.

2007 Sponsors