Even though the busy summer months are over, there remains an ongoing issue with respect to beaches. Litter and debris are always present, regardless of the month or time of year. Keeping area and state beaches clean is a task too large and expensive for any single agency. However, since 1986 residents have been able to “adopt” a beach and agree to help keep it clean on a volunteer basis — a concept that many locals believe helps them take ownership of their environment. I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) is the San Diego County coordinator for the statewide Adopt-A-Beach program, which is managed by the California Coastal Commission. “We have 5,000 volunteers in San Diego County,” said Morgan Justice-Black, outreach director for ILACSD. “Last year they put in 14,000 hours of service and collected 17,000 pounds (or 8.5 tons) of debris. For the state of California, there are 20,000 volunteers. So San Diego represents one-fourth of the (total number of) volunteers.” San Diego is also unique in that volunteers can also adopt inland parks or open-space areas. Available beaches stretch from Imperial Beach to Oceanside. Parks and open-space areas are within the City of San Diego. “One reason San Diego is so popular for this program is it is open to people of all ages,” said Justice-Black. “Whether you are 12 or 75 years old, you can be a volunteer.” According to Justice-Black, the program also draws volunteers from businesses and corporations. “We do have a sign recognition program, like when you see an Adopt-A-Highway sign, except it is an Adopt-A-Beach sign,” she said. “Businesses like that feature because it allows people to see their name as a company that cares about keeping the beaches clean.” Corporate support and involvement creates other benefits too, she said. “When people see a sign or employees from a large company out cleaning the beaches, it becomes a recruiting tool for ILACSD and for signing up more volunteers,” Justice-Black said. “Also, many companies use the opportunity to clean a beach as a corporate team-building exercise.” Whether it is an individual, a neighborhood group, high school or business, volunteers do have the option to choose the beach they wish to clean —with some possible restrictions. “Belmont Park is a popular choice for some of the obvious reasons,” Justice-Black said. “(There is) lots of parking, bathrooms and places to eat or drink nearby. However, we do not want multiple groups cleaning up the same beach on the same day. We want to make sure all the beaches are being serviced.” She also believes it is important to clarify one common misperception about the volume of trash collected on the beaches. “Not all the trash you see on the beaches is there because of those people actually on the beach,” Justice-Black said. “For example, people who hike in our inland canyons drop litter or debris which will be washed down to the beaches after a rain. This is one reason we moved our program inland to parks and to open spaces. Now we can collect the debris in the canyons before it travels through the storm drains and reaches the beaches.” The over 8-plus tons of trash collected last year is also remarkable, according to Justice-Black, because of the type of litter encountered. “When you realize most of the items being collected are both small and light in weight, the volume collected is incredible,” she said. “We are talking about cigarette butts, Styrofoam cups and plastic items.” Volunteers must commit to three separate cleanups during a 12-month period. A popular option for many volunteers is to schedule their efforts on a quarterly basis. In addition, volunteers are also provided with two bags. One is for items which are recyclable, the other for trash. For information on the Adopt-A-Beach program visit www.cleansd.org.