As part of the larger California Coastal Cleanup Day, San Joaquin County is looking for volunteers to participate locally in the event, scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026.
This year will mark the 27th effort in San Joaquin County while, in 1985, the California Coastal Commission organized its first statewide cleanup event, which was termed California Coastal Cleanup Day.
Close to 2,500 Californians took part that first year, and the California Coastal Cleanup Day program has been growing by leaps and bounds ever since. Since 1985, more than 1.6 million volunteers have removed over 26 million pounds of trash from beaches and inland waterways across the state.
The San Joaquin County effort will put teams in several locations for cleanup projects. Among them are McHenry Recreation Area in Escalon, along with Edgar Thoming Park, Lodi Lake, Calaveras River, Buckley Cove and American Legion Park.
Locally, the program is a partnership of San Joaquin County, its Public Works Department and the California Coastal Commission, in addition to other sponsors. Sign-ups are being taken now at www.sjwater.org
Officials noted that San Joaquin County has participated in this event annually, since 1999, except during 2020, when the event was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. In California, data is reported to the California Coastal Commission as part of the international cleanup efforts.
“At various sites throughout the County, volunteers gather to clear trash and debris from rivers, creeks, sloughs, and lakes. Public Works staff coordinates these cleanup activities with the goal of providing volunteers a hands-on opportunity to exhibit environmental leadership,” the county’s Flood Control & Water Conservation District shared in a statement. “Coastal Cleanup Day has been supported by numerous partners throughout the years, including the City of Stockton, the City of Lodi, the City of Tracy and several local and regional business community organizations.”
In 1986, The Ocean Conservancy (then known as the Center for Marine Conservation) ran its first Coastal Cleanup in Texas, and soon after collaborated with the Coastal Commission to spread the cleanup movement first across the country, and later internationally. California joined in the larger international effort as well. The International Coastal Cleanup now takes place in almost every state and over 100 countries and has become the world’s largest volunteer event related to the marine environment.
In 1993, officials noted, California Coastal Cleanup Day was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “largest garbage collection” ever organized, with 50,405 volunteers. Since then, Coastal Cleanup Day has continued to grow, steadily expanding inland. It now takes place in almost every California county. Since much of the plastic pollution in the ocean and on the coast travels there from city streets and inland waterways, cleanups in inland communities and throughout the watershed prevent trash from eventually becoming marine debris.
According to information released regarding the cleanup, as volunteers pick up trash from California’s coasts and inland waterways, they also record the types of trash they find. This data provides policy makers and the public with the information needed to make important decisions. The data volunteers collect each year has helped track what plastic products are making their way to California’s beaches, rivers, and creeks. With these numbers, policy makers, businesses, and the public can begin to take actions to reduce both plastic production and pollution.
Those signing up for a project will be asked to arrive at their site by 9 a.m. on Sept. 19 and are asked to wear work clothes and gloves, closed toe shoes, bring sunscreen, a filled water bottle and snack, along with a reusable bucket if one is available.
For additional information, contact scenteno@sjgov.org
