The south side of the Redondo Beach pier and Torrance Beach were crowded on Saturday, but instead of the usual beach bather’s and umbrellas dotting the strand; it was packed with volunteers. Families, couples, girl scouts and the local surf rider’s chapter covered the beach to help pitch in for the 23rd International Coastal Cleanup day.
While searching for trash, one volunteer found an unusual object for a pickup project. Soon after, a crowd of girl scouts gathered around the Heal the Bay volunteer as he showed off the small octopus that was found inside a plastic soda bottle.
The list of found items collected grew by the hour, but according to the volunteers, year after year less garbage has been brought in. Volunteers in Redondo Beach found sunglasses, batteries and fishing poles as well as an M-16 rifle barrel that was discovered under the Redondo Pier by a scuba diver, and was named one of the most unusual objects found. The barrel was immediately handed over to the Redondo Beach Police Department.
According to Heal the Bay, volunteers at other sites found a dead rooster with its head cut off, a tattered headshot of an aspiring actor, and a dead cat in a bag. The most frequently found items include cigarette butts, plastic bottles, snack-food packaging as well as plastic bags and Styrofoam fragments.
By noon, volunteers collectively gathered up the bags and pails of garbage. The collectors braved a record-breaking heat-wave to clean the beach from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, and have brought in over a million pounds of trash since Heal the Bay began over 25 years ago. Saturday’s haul brought in 38,598 pounds of trash from all 58 sites around the country. Heal the Bay hosts monthly cleanups every third Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon. Visit healthebay.org for more information. ER
