Turnout larger than last year
By CHRISTINA WALKER Special to the Daily Press
SM BEACH This past Saturday Santa Monicans turned out in record numbers to do their part for Coastal Cleanup Day, contributing to the millionth pound of ocean bound debris weighed and collected since the day’s inception 19 years ago.
Heal the Bay coordinated the clean up effort in Santa Monica and at 71 sites through out Los Angeles County for the world wide event.
Armed with data cards, gloves, trash and recyclable bags, over 12,000 volunteers combed both beach and inland areas for litter big and small from 9 a.m. to noon. More than 181,000 pounds of debris, including common place contaminants like cigarette butts and pieces of Styrofoam, were collected.
In Santa Monica some of the more unexpected finds included a mannequin arm and blood sugar testing kit. A bag filled with chicken parts and images of the Virgin of Guadalupe was collected at Ken Mallory Park in Harbor City as well.
Dana Ehrlich, team captain at Santa Monica Beach Tower 27, was rewarded with an iPod Nano for her efforts. The iPod was fully functional and filled with rap music, Erhlich said.
Ehrlich, who works for Keller Williams Reality, recruited families from her office as well as other volunteers for the event.
“We had 280 [volunteers] this year which I thought was fantastic,”Ehrlich said.
Volunteers at site tower 27 nearly doubled compared to last year’s 150 person turnout. This trend was reflected across the county as approximately 1,000 more people donated their Saturday morning for the cause this year.
Matthew King, communications director for Heal the Bay, attributed the larger turnout to an increase in public concern for the environment.
“All things environmental is on the forefront of social conscience,” King said. “More and more people are thinking of their daily habits. People want to do the right thing.”
Heal the Bay concentrated their efforts on making a bigger push to clean up inland areas this year. The push resulted from the fact that the majority of ocean pollution comes from urban runoff carried through storm drains.
The organization was happy to add the first ever inland site to Santa Monica in the Ocean Park neighborhood. John Muir Elementary School and Santa Monica Alternative School House joined forces to clean up their communities collecting 36 pounds of trash and 35 pounds of recyclables. Over 70 families participated in the event.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 23, 2008. Read the original PDF.