Collecting caps part of Coastal Cleanup
In an effort to help clean local waterways and create awareness about the harmful effects of plastic on the environment, a handful of students from Kim Hutson’s sixth-grade class at Vinewood Elementary will be collecting plastic bottle caps to make a bench during the seventh annual Lodi Coastal Cleanup this Saturday at Lodi Lake.
“The kids know that there is way too much trash in the ocean, so they wanted to try to alleviate that and bring awareness to our school,” Hutson said.
The goal is to collect 250 pounds of caps by Jan. 31. Then, they will send them off to a company in Greensboro, Ind., where workers will melt them down and repurpose them into a bench. The students have already started collecting caps and have included the entire school in their efforts. There is a contest between all the classes at the school to see who can bring in the most caps, and so far Hutson’s class has collected 86.5 pounds of caps.
She hopes her students will be able to collect more at the cleanup this weekend and is also planning on taking her students on an additional trip to the lake in October to have their own cleanup and collect more caps.
Every year Hutson does a service learning project with her students to educate them about keeping the waterways clean, including the coastal cleanup. Last year, the students just put the trash they collected into recycling bins but this year they actually wanted to do something with the trash they collected, Hutson said.
“I hope it will bring awareness that they will need to use less plastic and that we need to keep the plastic out of the rivers and the oceans,” Hutson said.
“There is a huge problem with plastics because they don’t biodegrade. It’s causing a lot of problems and pollution. I just want them to be aware.”
According to Lodi Watershed Program Coordinator Kathy Grant, there has been a decrease in plastic bottle caps collected during the Coastal Cleanup over the past two years. In 2017, 2,455 caps were collected but that number saw a dramatic decrease to 221 last year.
“They’re going to have to really hunt for those bottle caps,” Grant said.
She attributes the decrease in plastic caps to a rise in the use of reusable water bottles. Several of the teachers she has worked with have banned single-use bottles in their classes and students are being given or are purchasing refillable water bottles.
“I think the culture is going towards using those (refillable water bottles) as much as they can,” Grant said. “I think less and less people are just using those bottles (plastic single-use bottles). I think the word is out. I think we’re seeing a change.”
Not only has the number of bottle caps collected decreased but trash as a whole has decreased as well. According to Grant, when Lodi started hosting coastal cleanups tons of trash was collected around Lodi Lake. However, in the last five years, people have become more involved with cleaning up the area on a daily basis.
“You’ll see people who are going out on their daily walk, and they’re carrying their own buckets and their own grabbers, which to me is a mark of a successful program when the people do the cleanup without putting the city in the middle,” Grant said.
The Lodi Coastal Cleanup is part of a statewide event held every third Saturday of September with people participating at several sites all over California.
Each year, there is a statewide contest for the most unusual item found. Lodi has won twice in 14 years with students finding an unscratched lottery ticket and a crawdad in a knockoff Gucci purse. The most unusual trash item found last year at the lake was a cash register.
Grant is expecting about 350 volunteers to attend this year’s cleanup.
Grant said it is important for communities to have coastal cleanups because it keeps the waterways clean.
“Our drinking water in Lodi, 50% of it is coming from the river and the other 50% is from the ground, so obviously we want to keep our watershed clean,” Grant said.
Grant added that having a cleanup also helps cities to meet state mandates.
This year’s cleanup will kick off at 9 a.m. and end at noon, with registration from 8 to 8:45 a.m.
Grant advises those planning to participate in this year’s cleanup to remember to wear work clothes, and if they have their own bucket and grabbers to bring those as well. According to Grant, the cleanup will go on rain or shine.
She suggests all participants arrive early and bring their signed liability release form. Those needing a form can email Grant at