How To Participate In Beach Cleanups In Santa Monica For Earth Day

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica residents looking to make a difference this Earth Day have no shortage of options for beach cleanups and community events they can be a part of.

Earth Day this year falls on Saturday, April 22 and volunteers will take to streets and beaches to help pick up trash. In Santa Monica, there are a variety of events including:

• Annual Earth Day Venice Beach Clean-Up
• Earth Day Beach Clean-Up in Santa Monica
• Earth Day Jubilee at the Heal the Bay Aquarium
• Earth Day Beach Clean-Up at Santa Monica Pier

As a part of the worldwide holiday, the Great Global Cleanup has partnered with many local partners to bring more people to beaches to help pick up garbage that has accumulated on shores. The movement will host many events in Los Angeles County on Earth Day including beach cleanups in Venice, Hermosa Beach and Long Beach and cleanups along the LA River.

“Without these volunteer cleanups, we would be even more so drowning in the amount of plastic that is out there in the environment,” said GGC Coordinator Michael Karapetian.

According to LA County officials, about 28 million tons of solid waste head to landfills in the county each year. That amount of garbage could fill the Rose Bowl every week for the entire year.

Efforts to keep California’s coast clean tend to cost local communities huge sums of money, according to the California Coastal Commission. One study done in 2012 found that 90 west coast communities spent a total of more than $520 million to combat litter each year.

With recent winter storms that ravaged LA County, much of the trash that started at inland sources was swept out to the ocean, the coastal commission said. Just during this storm season, a trash interceptor installed at the mouth of Ballona Creek collected more than 110,000 pounds of garbage that were headed for the Santa Monica Bay, according to the Public Works Department.

“Protecting the coast and ocean starts outside our doors. Help prevent plastic pollution, and create a healthier neighborhood, by cleaning up streets, parks, waterways, and other local areas,” the California Coastal Commission said.