Army of Volunteers to Clean County Beaches on Saturday

It may have been the Summer of Gloom along Southern California’s coast, but the beach still managed to collect its fair share of pop tops, cigarette butts, pressed foam cups and all manner of other dreck.

On Saturday morning, a small army of volunteers plans to put the litter in its place during the seventh annual Coastal Cleanup Day. The public is invited to help in the cleanup, with plastic sacks and other equipment provided by the California Coastal Commission.

The cleanup crews will gather at 15 locations along the coast, including Long Beach. The groups are to meet under blue-and-white Coastal Cleanup Day banners at Long Beach and each of the following beaches: Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, Zuma, Malibu, Topanga, Will Rogers, Santa Monica, Venice, Ballona Lagoon, Dockweiler, Abalone Cove and Cabrillo.

The cleanup is sponsored by the Coastal Commission and coordinated locally by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors and Heal the Bay.

In Long Beach, volunteers will gather at 8 a.m. at the beach maintenance yard adjacent to the Belmont Plaza Pool at 4320 Olympic Plaza. The city Parks and Recreation Department and Marine Bureau will help coordinate the workers until about noon. Refreshments, certificates of appreciation and mementos will be provided for all participants.

Volunteers last year collected an estimated 12,000 pounds of debris countywide, of which an estimated 2,200 pounds was gathered in Long Beach.