The San Diego Clean Beach Coalition (SDCBC) is a collaboration of local non-profit organizations and city agencies focused on coastal stewardship, raising awareness of beach litter issues and preventing marine debris.
Enjoy your bash, but can your trash!
This summer over popular holiday weekends, hundreds of thousands of beachgoers head to the beaches and bays for some fun in the sun over their holiday weekend. I Love A Clean San Diego leads the Clean Beach Coalition alongside partners at FreePB.org and City of San Diego Parks and Recreation, lifeguards, police, and park rangers to ensure San Diegans have a safe and litter-free summer in San Diego. Over Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day holidays weekends, the coalition places 200 temporary trash and recycling bins directly on the sand at Ocean Beach, Mission Beach and Bay, and Pacific Beach to meet the demand from locals and tourists alike that flocked to the coast over the long weekend. With this added infrastructure, we ask San Diegans and tourists alike to be responsible with their trash and to recycle. Easy, convenient, and readily available bins make it simple to make the right choice when disposing of your trash. Over Summer 2013, 353,000 pounds of trash and recyclables were disposed of in the proper bins and trash cans, preventing litter by the ton from contaminating our beaches and our ocean.
Prevent litter by following these steps for a sustainable day at the beach…
You can go one step further by preventing trash in the first place by switching from single use disposable snacks, beverages, and coolers to reusable alternatives. Aim to bring a reusable water bottle you can refill while at the beach or wherever you go. Snacks can be kept in tupperware or reusable snack bags instead of individually packaged, wasteful alternatives. And when you pack up your cooler, save money and cut down on waste by investing in a reusable cooler rather than a styrofoam cooler. Styrofoam coolers don’t last, and break down quickly into small pieces that harm marine wildlife. Click here for more ways to prep for a sustainable day at the beach!
Why is the Clean Beach Coalition important?
Each summer season, non-profit organizations, local government agencies, and corporate groups join forces in an effort to prevent the hordes of litter that contaminate our treasured coastline every summer. Due to the sheer volume of people and the trash that comes along with everyone at the beach, trash cans often overflow quickly, giving everyone an excuse not to pick up any of their waste. This leads to a stadium mentality, where everyone throws their trash on the ground, thinking it will be someone else’s responsibility. In addition, traditionally beaches do not have recycling available for plastic bottles, cans, or glass causing all of these items to be wasted in a trash can. Recycling is extremely important, as it saves natural resources including plastics made from oil, and additionally saves space in our already over-crowded landfills.
