The devices support work during the Coastal Cleanup Day

David Goldstein
| Exclusively for the Ventura County Star

When Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers gathered on beaches from 9 a.m. to noon on September 21, they found less litter than in the 39 previous years of the event.

Mechanical devices that purify collected water prevent garbage from washing into storm drains and waterways to the ocean.

For example, Caltrans — the California Department of Transportation — partnered with the Ventura County Public Works Agency to recently install a “large solids removal device” to clean runoff from 41 acres in Saticoy, according to Hayley Luna, manager of Public Works.

Similarly, in recent years the county agency has installed and maintained mechanical trash capture systems to treat runoff in 136 retention ponds along such sites as Medea Creek, Lindero Creek, Revolon Slough/Beardsley Wash and the Ventura River Estuary, according to Luna.

Local cities are also doing their part by joining the county in enforcing the California Statewide Trash Amendment, which aims to reduce trash in state waters. Adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board in 2015, the rule requires cities and counties to prevent trash from entering stormwater systems that drain into rivers, lakes and coastal waters from certain land uses.

According to David Laak, the county’s public works manager overseeing the countywide stormwater program, all stormwater permit holders “are installing debris capture devices in their manholes,” with a deadline of 2030 for full capture devices to be installed in all eligible manholes.

Surprisingly, the implementation of these measures has not negatively affected the results of past coastal clean-ups.

This may be because the top 10 categories of items collected between 1988 and 2023 consist primarily of items that can be consumed directly on the beach. These are, in descending order of frequency: cigarettes/filters; food wrappers/containers; caps/lids; bags (paper and plastic); cups, plates, forks, knives, and spoons; straws/stirrers; glass bottles; plastic bottles; beverage cans; and construction materials. It may be that there is so much litter on the beach that the amount of litter collected during the event depends more on the number and enthusiasm of volunteers than on the presence of litter collection facilities upstream.

On the website of the Ocean Conservancy, the American nonprofit that serves as the main organizer of International Coastal Cleanup Day, and on the website of the California Coastal Commission, volunteers can click on a map to read instructions for the locations they would like to participate in. Each location has instructions. Some require advance registration, and a few are scheduled for dates other than September 21. There is also an online disclaimer. Site organizers will ask volunteers to show proof of the disclaimer before attending official meetings.

Volunteers don’t have to go to official locations. They can participate independently and submit their data to the collective effort through the Clean Swell app. However, official locations offer T-shirts, stickers, postcards and other rewards, often including snacks and water. Official locations also typically provide bags, gloves and data cards to track the types of trash collected. However, experienced volunteers use the Clean Swell app instead of a data card even at official events. They also bring reusable garden gloves instead of the site’s disposable gloves and reusable buckets instead of bags.

In recent years, Public Works Agency staff have taken the lead in organizing local beach cleanups. After staffing and organizational changes, the county asked for more help this year. The Ventura County Resource Conservation District stepped in, and Heidi Ortloff, the district’s education and outreach coordinator, is the countywide coordinator.

“We at RCD felt this was consistent with our core values of protecting natural resources and our goal of inspiring concern for current and future generations of Ventura County residents,” Ortloff explained. RCD also coordinates two county watershed planning groups, the Ventura River Watershed Council and the Santa Clara River Watershed Committee.

More information about Ventura County Coastal Cleanup Day events, including a list of local inland and coastal sites and a map, can be found at vccoastcleanup.org.

David Goldstein, environmental resources analyst for the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or [email protected].