Online volunteer registration is now open for Coastal Cleanup Day 2014, the largest single-day volunteer event in San Diego dedicated to protecting and preserving our local environment. The event will be held Saturday, Sept. 20. Volunteers of all ages are needed from 9 a.m. to noon at more than 100 coastal and inland sites to help preserve the local environment by cleaning up these outdoor areas. Interested volunteers can sign up for the cleanup online at www.CleanupDay.org. 
Organized locally by environmental nonprofit I Love a Clean San Diego (ILACSD), Coastal Cleanup Day is part of the statewide Coastal Cleanup Day and International Coastal Cleanup, which has included more than 150 countries and 9 million volunteers since its inception more than 30 years ago. Locally, the event successfully brings together roughly 7,500 volunteers, local businesses, community organizations and government agencies, all working toward the same goal: a cleaner and healthier San Diego. The city’s Storm Water and Transportation Department launched a “Think Blue” campaign to prevent stormwater pollution.
Each year, hundreds of tons of garbage end up on the beaches and in our waterways after traveling through San Diego’s vast watershed system. Best known for its beach cleanup sites, Coastal Cleanup Day reaches far beyond the beach, with more than 65 percent of sites located along the rivers, creeks, canyons and urban areas throughout San Diego County. Event organizers said cleaning up these inland sites prevents trash from reaching the coast, stopping pollution at the source. 
In 2013, more than 9,700 volunteers (about 7,700 in San Diego County and 2,000 in Tijuana) removed nearly 171,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from San Diego County’s 11 watersheds. Trash removal is just one component of the annual event. Volunteers will also conduct storm-drain stenciling, invasive plant removal, native planting and graffiti removal. Another unique component of the event is the “on the water” cleanups that will take place at San Dieguito Lagoon and Shelter Island/San Diego Bay.
ILACSD encourages San Diegans to come together for the event to improve the health of the environment and preserve the San Diego way of life for future generations. For a complete list of cleanup sites and to register to volunteer visit www.CleanupDay.org. 
For more information, to volunteer or to donate, visit www.cleansd.org, or call (619) 291-0103.