Saturday one of last days to volunteer at local event

To register for the Coastal Cleanup, 9 a.m. to noon, visit cleanupsolano.org

One of the last chances to participate in the 12th Annual Solano County Coastal Cleanup, a monthlong effort to keep trash and recyclables out of local waterways, will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Over the weeks, the efforts by Solano County residents have helped to clean their communities and the Pacific Coast by sweeping through their own neighborhoods and local natural places, collecting trash to help prevent single-use plastic items and other litter from polluting the environment and flowing into the ocean, Marianne Butler, education director for the Solano Resource Conservation District, wrote in a press release.

“We hope everyone will help to make the last Saturday of the month the most successful day of this year’s effort,” she added in the prepared statement.

Si nce the program started in 2008, more than 27,000 local volunteers have removed 456,000 pounds of trash and recyclable debris from local waterways, parks, and trails. Last year alone, nearly 2,200 volunteers cleared more than 26,000 pounds of debris — all during one Saturday morning’s work, Butler pointed out.

She noted the ongoing pandemic forced the conservation district’s staff to rethink its strategy this year, and some changes were made to allow county residents to stay close to home and follow public health guidelines and still participate.

Picking up trash in the streets stops it from becoming beach and ocean pollution once the rains begin.

“This is an opportunity to safely participate in the annual event in a way that provides immediate benefits to you and your neighborhood, and long- term benefits to the ocean and our beaches,” wrote Butler.

“Even though we haven’t been able to gather at the cleanup sites, volunteers have done amazing work during this month,” said Narcisa Untal, senior planner with the Solano County Department of Resource Management. “They have shown that their community spirit and care for the environment is still alive and flourishing, and that they value clean and healthy beaches and waterways.”

There is still time to be part of the 2020 Coastal

Cleanup, which will continue through Wednesday.

The first step is to register on the Cleanup Solano website, at cleanupsolano.org. When you register, you can keep track of your impact and see in real time the difference you and other volunteers are making, noted Butler.

Coordinators also encourage participants to download and use the CleanSwell mobile app or print and use the Trash Collection Data Cards, both of which are accessible on the cleanup website. Those tools allow participants to document what you clean up. The data collected from these tools is crucial for informing policy decisions like California’s historic plastic bag and straw bans that hold big polluters accountable, she explained.

Complete guidelines for conducting a neighborhood cleanup, along with other resources to help plan and prepare, are available at the website. Check the website for updates and share your cleanup experience on social media using the hashtags #CoastalCleanup and #KeepSolanoClean. Follow local cleanup efforts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using the handle @ cleanupsolano.

T he a n nua l S ola no County Coastal Cleanup Day, in partnership with city and local wastewater agencies, are part of a larger statewide Coastal Cleanup Day effort usually consisting over more than 1,000 sites throughout California.

For a complete listing of Solano County partners and community cleanups, visit cleanupsolano.org.