California Coastal Cleanup Day largest in event history
Jeanine Benca
Contra Costa Times
09/21/2008
An annual clean-up of California shorelines netted a record number of volunteers, not to mention a creepy catch on the beach in San Joaquin County.
Tens of thousands participated in the 24th annual California Coastal Cleanup on Saturday — part of a global effort organized by The Ocean Conservancy. Eco-conscious volunteers around the world help clean up beaches each year on the third Saturday in September.
In California, this year's turnout was the biggest ever, said event spokeswoman Judi Shils.
With 70 percent of the clean-up sites reporting Saturday, the count stood at 55,634 volunteers. Organizers said they expected the total would exceed last year's count of 62,000 volunteers fished for garbage on more than 750 ocean, lake, river and creek shores around the state. They picked up 742,154 pounds of debris, including 106,581 pounds of recyclable materials, according to a California Coastal Commission news release.
As always, volunteers reeled in a couple of offbeat catches.
