California State Parks Invites Public to Join the 40th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day

More than 40 state park units to participate in state’s largest annual volunteer event

California State Parks today announced that more than 40 state parks, as well as the department’s Division of Boating and Waterways, will participate in the 40th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, Sept. 21. Every year on Coastal Cleanup Day, tens of thousands of people remove trash at sites throughout California as part of the state’s largest annual volunteer event.

WHAT:          40th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day 

WHEN:          9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 21

WHERE:        More than 1,000 sites throughout California.
View this interactive map of cleanup locations to find a location near you.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: This year, more than 45,000 volunteers are expected to join in the effort to remove trash from beaches and inland shorelines – from the coast to the Sierra region and from San Diego up to Modoc County. Forty-five California state parks units – including Heart’s Desire and Millerton Point (Alan Sieroty Beach) at Tomales Bay State Park, Crystal Cove State Park, San Buenaventura, and San Clemente state beaches – will be participating in this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day. To join this statewide effort, visit the California Coastal Cleanup Day 2024 webpage. Volunteers are encouraged to reuse items they may have at home.

California State Parks supports equal access. If you are interested in participating and need special accommodations, contact the park unit you plan to volunteer at for assistance.

The event is organized by the California Coastal Commission as part of the International Coastal Cleanup organized by the Ocean Conservancy. Participants are encouraged to share their cleanup experience on social media using the hashtag #coastalcleanupday. Follow statewide efforts on FacebookX, and on Instagram.

Photos of Kayaker and SUPers picking up trash.

Top: Volunteers from Surf Sports on their kayak in Marin County. Photo from Surf Sports. Bottom: Volunteers collecting trash at the Jack London Aquatic Center in Alameda. Photo from I Heart Oakland-Alameda Estuary.

About Coastal Cleanup Day
Coastal Cleanup Day not only helps protect water bodies, and the wildlife and communities that thrive in and around them, but it also provides a hands-on educational experience of the damage caused by trash, especially single-use disposable plastics. According to past cleanup data, 75 percent of the debris that was removed was composed of plastic, a material that never completely biodegrades and has numerous harmful consequences for the environment. Plastic debris can kill wildlife, leach toxins into the environment, and introduce them into the food chain. In 2023, more than 45,762 volunteers removed 376,308 pounds of trash and recyclables from California’s waterways, beaches, and lakes in one day. In partnership with the Division of Boating and Waterways, 41 boating facilities and groups participated in the event with 1,799 volunteers collecting 17,641 pounds of trash and recyclables on land and from 203 kayaks, canoes, and dinghies.

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