Data from San Diego Beach Cleanups
San Diego Coastkeeper and the San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation conduct twice-monthly beach cleanups throughout the county to address the issue of trash in our oceans and on our beaches. So far, we have successfully completed more than 60 beach cleanups.
In January 2007, we started collecting information from data cards distributed to volunteers. This data helps us identify major pollution sources in San Diego. We upload the information to our interactive beach data site, and these are some highlights of what we have learned from 2007 through 2009:
The total weight of trash collected has increased and so has the number of volunteers
The top ten items found at our cleanups have shifted slightly, but remained similar from year to year.
- Eight of the top ten items found are composed of plastic, which is less dense than seawater and therefore floats. These items take a long time to break down in the marine environment and pose a significant threat to wildlife
- The number one item, cigarette butts, has increased by 10,000 butts over a period of three years. Even though smoking is illegal on beaches, our volunteers may hit the parking lots and streets, where we see many more cigarette butts
- Styrofoam pieces consistently rank as one of the top three items counted
- We collect 7,000 plastic bottle caps each year, instead of letting seabirds eat them
When we combined data from Coastkeeper and Surfrider cleanups as well as information from other major events, including Coastal Cleanup Day, Creek to Bay, and the 4th of July Morning After Mess, San Diego County has astounding results.
