What if you could protect our coastline, improve the lives of marine animals, and shape policies to combat plastic pollution — all in a single morning? On Saturday, September 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, Santa Barbara County community members will have that opportunity during Coastal Cleanup Day.
For forty years, Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) has inspired people around the globe to take action for a healthier, cleaner environment. The state’s largest volunteer event is expected to draw more than 50,000 people across hundreds of locations from the ocean to the Sierra Nevada. In Santa Barbara County, sites ranging from beaches, to parks, to creeks will be cleaned.
Since the event’s launch in 1985, about 1.8 million volunteers have helped remove more than 27 million pounds of trash from thousands of miles of California’s beaches and inland shorelines. The most common items found include cigarette filters, food wrappers, plastic straws, and other utensils.