The Loma Prietan
October 2001
2001 Coastal Cleanup Day A Success
by Judy Kaufman
The 17th annual Coastal Cleanup day took place as planned on Saturday, September 15th. In San Mateo County 1,462 volunteers came to 28 sites and picked up 91,000 pounds of trash and 26,940 pounds of recyclables. Among the items found this year were heavy furniture, a garage door, construction materials, mattresses, a patio set, a refrigerator and two truck engines.
The usual plastics, cigarette butts, and fast food garbage made the top of the list, as did a number of dead creatures: a sea lion, three otters, and assorted birds. The data from past years has indicated that most coastal beach detritus comes from rivers and streams, and so our cleanup efforts are moving further inland and including more and different kinds of waterways.
We were pleased to add two new sites to our county cleanup list: Redwood Creek in Redwood City and the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve. If you know of a site that needs cleaning in the county, please let us know.
We thank the many volunteers who showed up and worked hard on the shorelines. We would also like to thank the local organizers, beach captains, people who helped at the sign-in tables, and local businesses who donated coffee, doughnuts, and other items. And a final thank you to the statewide Coastal Commission Coordinators, who work year-round so that we can have this important day of community and environmental service.