Nearly 650 volunteers gathered at four popular beaches on July 5 to assist with the Surfrider Foundation San Diego County chapter’s annual post-Fourth of July “Morning After Mess” beach series.  By midday, Surfrider volunteers had recovered 1,410 pounds of trash and 326 pounds of recyclable material that otherwise would have been washed into the sea, where it would add to the critical pollution problem devastating the world’s oceans. 
 Surfrider volunteers hosted four cleanups in collaboration with I Love a Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper on July 5 at the Ocean Beach Pier, Belmont Park in Mission Beach, Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach and the Oceanside Pier.  
These cleanup sites were chosen because of the high concentration of beachgoers and notorious reputations for post-Fourth of July trash.
 Few holidays generate more trash on San Diego County beaches than the Fourth of July.  Much of this litter is made up of plastic, which exacerbates the pollution problem impacting marine life in the world’s oceans.  
This year’s “Morning After Mess” recovered 489 plastic bags, 983 pieces of Styrofoam and 14,796 cigarette butts.
 Surfrider Foundation works to prevent pollution from becoming part of the “Morning After Mess.”
Through programs like Rise Above Plastics and Hold Onto Your Butt, the organization uses education, outreach and advocacy to reduce single-use plastics and cigarette butts along the coast. 
 For more information, visit www.surfridersd.org, or contact email [email protected] or (619) 929-5350.