Volunteers from Santa Barbara County removed over 6,180 pounds of garbage last Saturday throughout the region’s beaches as part of the International and California Coastal Cleanup Day.

The California Coastal Commission and Coastal Conservancy hosted the cleanup at 29 sites throughout the county from Rincon Beach Park to Guadalupe Dunes and worked with over 1,100 volunteers to eliminate 5,138 pounds of trash and 1,042 pounds of recyclables. The annual event began in 1986 and has garnered a considerable amount of support since its inauguration.

Last year, more than 82,500 volunteers removed 1.2 million pounds of coastal debris throughout California as part of the campaign.

The Isla Vista Recreation and Park District worked alongside the organizations and scheduled a quarterly community trash removal day to coincide with the event. 78 volunteers collected an average of 21 pounds of waste per person at the Isla Vista and UCSB sites, removing a total of 1,631 pounds of trash from the area.

According to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Public Works Dept., the Ocean Conservancy collects data on the retrieved materials and distributes it internationally to improve marine preservation policies and funding.

-Staff Report