Coastal Cleanup Day at Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA
This past Saturday, September 20 was International Coastal Cleanup Day, which is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. Here are a few photos of the cleanup efforts at the Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA.

On my trash scorecard, note that 53 food wrappers/containers were found. This did not even include the countless small pieces of styrofoam that were likely once a cup, food container, etc. It's awful for these things to be laying out in the open so close to bird and marine life. The animals often ingest the waste and cannot digest it and become victim to an untimely death.

With very little effort, I also found 53 cigarette butts. In addition to the fact that animals ingest cigarette butts, it's awful that so many people discard their smokes in an area that's so full of dry brush and plants. Southern California (and many other areas) are very susceptible to fire and if you recall, one of last year's fires in Malibu was thought to have been started by a cigarette that was thrown out of a car window.
Hundreds of pounds of trash was collected:


Please do your part to keep beautiful places like the Malibu Lagoon clean and free of trash. If you see trash around any coastal area, please take a moment to pick it up and help keep our environment clean.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is this Saturday, September 20, 2008
If you have a little time to volunteer this weekend, you may want to consider helping out with the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup Day efforts. It's a great way to help the environment and to help countless forms of wildlife that depend on coastal or wetland habitats. You don't need to live near the ocean. . . cleanup efforts will be underway in many inland areas as well. You can learn more by clicking the Coastal Cleanup Day image below and remember to help keep your environment clean all year around. If you see trash laying around outside, make an effort to pick it up, especially if it's in a coastal area.

Coastal Cleanup Day at Malibu Lagoon
Today was International Coastal Cleanup day and volunteers around the world helped clean up coastal areas that are littered with far too much waste. I lent a hand at the Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA. The volunteer force at this site ended up collecting roughly 470 pounds of trash (or thereabouts). It was pretty amazing to see the types of junk our fellow human beings toss on the ground without a second thought. Food wrappers, plastic bags, styrofoam, cigarette butts, plastic bottles, cans, and more...the list is endless. Each small piece of trash poses a severe threat to marine and bird life. Our trash is often easily mistaken for food and if a bird or marine mammal ingests plastic, it may very well end their lives. Please don't litter! And if possible, please lend a hand to pick up trash when you see it...especially around coastal areas...you may save an animal's life.

International Coastal Cleanup Day: Saturday, September 15, 2007
If you live in a coastal region and would like to volunteer some of your time to a worthy environmental cause, consider spending part of your day helping to clean up the shoreline. Cleanups are being held in most states within the U.S. as well as in many countries abroad. Volunteers on both foot and in boats are needed. For more information, visit the International Coastal Cleanup page on the Ocean Conservancy's web site that has more information about time, location, and more details about how to help. If you can't make it out on 9/15, consider doing a little cleanup on your own time next time you see trash around a beach, a coastal region, or anywhere outside for that matter. Picking up and properly disposing of a single plastic bag can help save the live of a marine animal or bird.