Volunteers Needed for Coastal Cleanup Day in Solano County

Want to do something for the environment? Volunteer for this year's Coastal Cleanup Day

Carlos Villatoro, Patch Staff

Posted Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 4:08 am PT|Updated Mon, Sep 5, 2011 at 4:27 am PT

Trash.

It's smelly, unsightly and messes up Solano County waterways. This is why it's so critical for Solano County residents to do their part in cleaning up couny waterways.

In fact, organizers of the California Coastal Cleanup Day are hoping more than 3,000 volunteers will turn out on Saturday, Sept. 17 to gather over 50,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from along Solano County waterways.

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“Coastal Cleanup Day is a great way to show community support for our shared natural resources,” said Marianne Butler of the Solano Resource Conservation District who serves as the countywide coordinator for event. “The event lets volunteers experience firsthand what happens when people dispose of trash and recyclables irresponsibly. It's hard to be out in these beautiful places and see garbage strewn about and not feel compelled to make a difference.”

Among the 50 waterway sites needing volunteers are at Lake Solano Park, Sandy Beach Park and Belden’s Landing. For a complete list of cleanup sites, go to http://Recycle.SolanoCounty.com.

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To make this collection day a zero-waste event, participants are asked to bring their own bucket, gloves and a reusable water bottle. According to Narcisa Untal, Solano County’s Integrated Waste Management Planner, zero waste is an adopted measure of the County’s Climate Action Plan and supports a statewide goal that encourages all Californians to rethink garbage.

“The zero waste concept encourages our community to rethink the garbage we send to landfills by reducing, reusing, recycling or composting products consumed so that these discards are no longer considered garbage, but a valuable material being returned to nature or the marketplace,” Untal said.

In 1985, the California Coastal Commission organized Coastal Cleanup Day to address the growing amount of plastic debris littering the California Coast. Community-based cleanup events were organized at beaches throughout the state and nearly 2,500 volunteers took part in what has grown to be an international movement.

In the early 1990s, the Coastal Cleanup Day spread inland to capture the debris at the source. Most marine debris found on beaches starts as urban trash or street litter carried by local waterways. In 1996, Solano County began organizing its communities to rid its creeks, rivers and lakes of accumulated debris and thwart the trash journey to the coast.

Over the years, volunteers have gathered 565,682 pounds of trash and 76,581 pounds of recyclables from sites across the county. In 2010, a total of 2,966 volunteers gathered 28,714 pounds of trash and 4,384 pounds of recyclables.

To sign up, please contact your city coordinator listed here:

Benicia

Sue Alfeld

(707) 980.1895

email: watereducation@att.net

Dixon

Martha Jensen

(707) 678.7051 ext. 105

email: mjensen@ci.dixon.ca.us

website: www.ci.dixon.ca.us

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