International Coastal Clean Up
The International Coastal Cleanup is coming up next month on September 15th. It's a great way to get your hands dirty (bring gloves), work with like-minded volunteers, and enjoy a fall morning, making the world a little cleaner.
It was a beautiful morning in Winters, picking up trash with new friends from the Putah Creek Council, and supporting the International Coastal Clean-up.
Last year, I joined Putah Creek Council (PCC) for a well-organized and welcoming event in Winters, a small town 40 miles west. Since I often volunteer alone, receiving a warm greeting and clear instructions from PCC leaders made me feel right at home. The Council sponsored three International Coastal Clean-up worksites as part of the global occasion.
After a coordinator gave me a bright yellow vest, a bucket, and a grabber tool, I crossed a beautiful footbridge with my squad and moved up the highway to collect garbage along Cache Creek. It was a stunning morning and a great start to the weekend!
Some highlights include:
Globally, the Coastal Cleanup has attracted over 1.6 million volunteers.
Our site's totals were impressive: approximately 90 volunteers collected 532 pounds of trash and 106 pounds of recycling.
We also documented what we collected. The data submitted by PCC helps the state regulate the use of plastics and other waste materials and guide legislation.
The worst thing I found was a large plastic bag filled with rotten pumpkins. It may sound harmless, but getting the gunky sack to the roadside was challenging. The smell still haunts me! I wonder about the story behind the senseless pumpkin slaughter.
We had our biggest surprise near the end of our hunt. We were pleasantly surprised when around 100 motorcyclists roared down the highway, many yelling "Thank you!!!" to our crew, throwing thumbs-up, peace signs, and plenty of smiles. It made us feel great!
After three hours of collecting trash, all the volunteers reconvened in a lovely community park at the center of town. Following that much garbage-collecting, I was seriously hungry! Suddenly, three large boxes packed with freshly made burritos touched down on our picnic tables. I downed two before you could say, "International Coastal Cleanup." Yum!