Coastal Cleanup Recap

Last Saturday, 51,543 volunteers (including a group of 8 from Soka!) went out and removed trash from watersheds across the state of California.

Those volunteers picked up 471,218 pounds of trash
and an additional 30,530 pounds of recyclable materials,
for a total of 501,748 pounds or 251 tons.

-The California Coastal Commission

Here in Aliso Viejo, the Soka crew cleaned up some surprising items... Here are some of our favorite weird discoveries:
-PS2 game cases
-Many, many jars of mayonaise
-A wheel
-2 sleeping bags
-A rainbow umbrella

We also found a picnic table surrounded by heaps and heaps of...lord knows what.

Before:

After:

To see more pictures of Soka students at work on Coastal Cleanup Day, check out our album on Facebook!


Kiki Fong from the class of 2017 was kind enough to share her experience participating in the 2013 California Coastal Cleanup:

In the second week of my environmental ethics class, I learned about Sartre’s philosophy regarding man’s responsibility on every decision making. Every action that man choose to do is his own problem, so he should not point finger to others when he regrets them. However, in this contemporary society, there are many irresponsible people who create mess like littering and abandon their trouble for the future generation. I believe that I should apply Sartre’s theory in my generation or the society, to clean up the mess we make. We should be responsible over the pollution we created instead of leaving them to our children to solve these problems.

Coincidentally on the same week, there was a volunteer event at Aliso Viejo on Saturday to clean up the coastal side, and this was an opportunity for me to apply Sartre’s notion and be responsible for my generation. At first I was a little disappointed because we were not picking trash at the beach. However, it was an enjoyable experience for me because I never clean up at the trail park before. Who knew picking trash in the park was like hunting? Going inside the bushes despite getting dirty and cut just to get those empty liquor bottles was fun because after removing them from nature, I felt a sense of accomplishment. That feeling was priceless and amazing, and I would like to create more because these feelings would be the driving force for me to preserve a better environment for the future generation.

Chelsea Dugger from the class of 2014, who in addition to being one of this year's ED chairs has also done the Coastal Cleanup with Soka since her freshman year, also shared some thoughts on the subject:

This year was my eighth time participating in the California Coastal Cleanup event held annually in order to collect trash that has the potential to travel through our extensive watershed systems into the ocean. Being a self-proclaimed “ocean lover” I am very passionate in preserving the beauty of the sea as a space free of human-induced pollution. Having focused on the multidimensional problem of non-point source pollution that is marine debris, I know how essential prevention is in preventing this global crisis from worsening. As it stands right now we already have an island of trash floating in the Pacific Ocean, known as the GreatPacific Garbage Patch (check out the link for a video), measuring over 100 million tons of trash. This is why I felt the need to go and pick up the smallest pieces of trash/litter at the Aliso Viejo Ranch off 100 Park Avenue past Saturday.

 Just Fyi- The way our watersheds function is that all water sources running throughout Aliso Viejo, meaning the streams, creeks and natural rain drain patterns lead directly to the ocean. Our storm drains throughout the city also lead directly to the ocean which is why little gum wrappers or straw plastic or candy bar debris left on the street can go directly into the ocean threatening our access to clean beaches; as well as the detrimental consequence to marine animals and ecosystems. Since small pieces of trash are often overlooked as “not a big deal,” I made conscientious effort to climb deep into bushes (suffering a few scratches) to get every piece of trash visible. But I couldn’t help but think how unnecessary my actions would have been if people were simply more careful of guaranteeing that their trash is securely contained in closed bins where there are minimal threats of it blowing into the water stream going directly to the ocean. This is why I was equally as happy to be 9 miles inland compared to directly on the beach because I knew that I was getting the bits of trash often overlooked.

 This brings me to a personal issue I feel VERY strongly about- the waste of single-use plastic straws! According to the Coastal Comission website “Last year, over 20,000 straws were removed on Coastal Cleanup Day. Straws are the 6th most commonly found litter. Due to their durability, buoyancy, and ability to accumulate and concentrate toxins present in the ocean, plastic straws are especially harmful to marine life.” I found many of them this year and each time I get more and more frustrated! To me straws are a convenience not a necessity which is why I urge everyone to consider two great ways to reduce the risk of littered straws- Say “Please no straw, thank you” as many times as possible- just remember “That straw you used for one meal will be trash forever, so instead why not just skip it?” If you are in love with straws though consider buying a cheap set of sturdy, reusable metal straws ($14 for 4 on Amazon). I think the most important thing is to be active- as an advocate and activist… talk the talk and walk the walk by refusing to use straws (explaining why!) and volunteering to clean up those sadly left behind by others.
Please come talk with me at any time you ever want to know more about marine debris (I did a Busenburg paper on it; which is saying a lot!), straws or anything environmentally related!

Keep your eyes peeled for emails next September for the next California Coastal Cleanup Day so you can participate with us next time!