Annual Coastal Cleanup Day Set for Saturday

Thousands of volunteers from throughout the Bay Area are set to descend on the region's beaches on Saturday in the state's largest volunteer event, California Coastal Cleanup Day.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, volunteers will scour Bay Area beaches and shorelines for trash, debris and recyclables during the 27th annual cleanup event organized by the San Francisco-based California Coastal Commission.

Organizers said they hope Saturday's event will surpass last year's cleanup volunteer count of more than 82,000. Local environmental organizations and government agencies are among the many different organizers set to oversee the statewide event.

In Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, Save Our Shores is prepping for the cleanup, which will take place at over 80 different sites.

Oakland's Public Works Agency is expecting thousands of volunteers to search for trash at Lake Merritt, the Oakland Estuary and at creeks throughout the city in the city's 16th annual Creek to Bay Day event, part of the statewide coastal cleanup. In Marin County, the Marine Mammal Center is hosting a cleanup on Rodeo Beach in the Marin Headlands.

Volunteers there are invited to the center after the cleanup Saturday, where they can enjoy free docent-led tours and an ocean trash art exhibit.

Coastal commission officials said a survey of 1,000 of last year's cleanup volunteers show the event has been an effective tool in educating participants about the harmful impact of trash on the ocean.

Santa Cruz County residents can sign up for Coastal Cleanup Day, here.

Organizers will provide cleanup tools, but the commission encourages volunteers to help reduce waste by bringing their own trash containers such as reusable buckets or shopping bags.

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