Our goal is to get as many Earth Heroes as possible to cleanup a location of their liking and inspiring others, while staying safe and respecting County and State orders. So, are you ready to make it count by taking care of your happy place and recording your results?

What are the “Street to Beach” cleanups?

Simply put, it is a cleanup done by yourself or with family and/or peers and done whenever is convenient for you. It can be around your neighborhood, at the beach, in a needy area, or anywhere actually. You could even “adopt” a specific location in need and care for it on a regular basis.

What and when is Coastal Cleanup Day?

Coastal Cleanup Day is an international and annual event organized by different groups to gather people eager to make a difference on the 3rd Saturday of September. Together groups of friends, communities, families, coworkers and individuals cleanup locations to remove litter. In California, the results are then recorded and sent to the California Coastal Commission. Scientists and lobbyists use these results to pass new bans and measure the impact of current bans. This year Coastal Cleanup Day is on September 23rd, 2023.

Why should I join the Street to Beach Cleanup program for Coastal Cleanup Day?

Cleaning up a place that you hold dear to your heart is often seen as a fun and rewarding outdoor activity. Picking up litter from the streets keeps it from flowing into the ocean via our storm drains. We are now finding lots of litter, plastic bags, wrappers, disposable gloves, masks and food containers on our beaches and throughout the neighborhoods and even more so since COVID-19. This is why keeping track of your results is very important.

How can I help?

It is very easy! Make sure you have all your supplies ready, and go out on September 23rd. Don’t forget to let us know how much trash you collected so that we can add it to our total. Remember every single piece count!

Can I get community service hours?

Yes you can! We put a special system in place to help students get their community hours verified after a cleanup. Follow these instructions, it is easy.

Follow these 4 steps to have a safe and fun cleanup:

1. Sign The Online Waiver

To make sure that everyone is covered, please sign the online waiver just like you do during our monthly cleanups. It only takes a few seconds!

2. Gear Up

Grab a bucket or a bag: If you don’t find anything at home, you can get 2, 3 or 5 gallons buckets at your local hardware store for $4 or $5 each.

Put on some gloves: Reusable ones are more sustainable. You can also find these at your hardware store for less than $5.

Take your pick up stick: This is usually something we don’t use a lot during our beach cleanups because we like when our volunteers reach to grab litter and build a connection with the Earth. But, now days, a pick up stick is the perfect tool to keep the litter at a reasonable distance from your face. These are also available at your hardware store. We recommend spending a little bit extra to get a solid and reliable grabber.

Don’t forget your phone: Take pictures and share them on social media if this is in your practice @pacificbeachcoalition for Facebook and Instagram. And with the Clean Swell app installed, you can track how much trash your pick up. More details below!

3. Cleanup Around You

We can’t stress this enough: you don’t need to go far to have a successful and ultra rewarding cleanup!
Go to your favorite park, trail, town or any other place. Picking up litter before it reaches the beach is important to keep the ocean healthy.

4. Log Your Trash and Add Pacific Beach Coalition as Your Group

Now that the hard work is done, let’s record it!

Download the Clean Swell App and log in your trash. It will automatically tally your items, weight and distance making it easy for you. Please remember to list Pacific Beach Coalition as your group so we can see your results too. [find all the instructions here]

If you can’t to use the Clean Swell App, please record your results on the PBC Blue Bucket. Give us a weight estimate, number of volunteers, and number of cigarette butts. 

Feel free to post your efforts on our Facebook Group and inspire others with your work!

Do You Need Supplies?

We are happy to help you – while supplies last! Send us an email (info [at] pacificbeachcoalition.org). We will get back to you to arrange a time and pick-up location. Please note that our volunteers providing the supplies live in Pacifica, Montara and Half Moon Bay.

Please Note: If you do a cleanup, you are doing it on your own accord and personally accepting any and all risks.

And Remember, Safety First!

To protect your health and slow the spread of the coronavirus, we recommend that you comply with the following cleanup guidelines:

• Wear gloves and a face mask (think reusable).
• Avoid touching your face.
• When done, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
• Wash your gloves.
• Do not pick up sharp objects unless you can do so safely.
• Wear close-toed shoes to protect your feet from sharp objects.
• Keep a safe distance from all beach wildlife!