41st Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day Attracts More Than 20,000 Volunteers
On September 20, California Coastal Cleanup Day, 19,987 volunteers removed 178,296 pounds of trash and recyclables at the 41st annual event. This tally is likely far higher, given that only 40% of registered sites had reported final numbers as of the next day (Sunday), and it excludes ad hoc removal efforts carried out by individual citizens and citizen groups. The California Coastal Commission, organizers of the statewide event, lists more than 200 “official” cleanup locations on its participant map.
In the coastal town of Benicia, 110 volunteers descended upon three cleanup regions. The city partnered with Benicia Litter Pickers, a local group whose members remove trash around town on a regular basis. Sharon Denney, Senior Management Analyst Public Works, City of Benicia, shares, “We had many students from Benicia High School, Liberty High School and a Girl Scout troop join.”
A “World’s First Trashure Hunt” theme prevailed for 2025, with envelopes hidden away for participants to find. Here, prizes included water bottles, reusable bags, reusable straw sets and Downtown Dollars donated by Benicia Main Street.
Mid-Bay, organizer San Francisco Baykeeper attracted 40 volunteers who toiled from the north end of the San Francisco Marina Green/yacht harbor area to west of the St. Francis Yacht Club.
“Coastal Cleanup Day is a great opportunity to engage Bay Area residents in protecting San Francisco Bay,” said Sejal Choksi-Chugh, executive director of San Francisco Baykeeper. “Holding the event in September means volunteers remove trash before the start of the rainy season, when it’s estimated that storms wash seven trillion pieces of trash annually into the Bay — this event makes a big impact for protecting the Bay’s water quality and wildlife.”
The most common litter collected was cigarette butts, followed by food and drink packaging, then disinfectant wipes.
San Francisco Baykeeper has participated in Coastal Cleanup Day since 2008. “We hid five Trashure tokens; winners redeemed them for Baykeeper water bottles and hats. It was a hit — volunteers were excited to have that extra fun element for the cleanup,” Choksi-Chugh said.
Rotary Club of San Rafael has participated in Coastal Cleanup Day numerous times, and this year led efforts at Starkweather Path, which runs from Marin Rod and Gun Club to Baypoint Lagoons. J. Patrick Burke from the Rotary Club verifies there were 30 volunteers, including 17 sixth graders from St. Isabella’s School. Down in Palo Alto, 150 volunteers picked up 500 pounds of trash at Cooley Landing and Ravenswood Preserve. More than 50% of the volunteers were students and families from Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto.
In 1983, California Coastal Cleanup Day was recognized by Guinness World Records for being the “largest garbage collection,” with 50,405 volunteers. The state’s annual event is part of the broader International Coastal Cleanup, which is recognized by Guinness World Records for being the largest annual coastal cleanup project. The California Coastal Commission reports that approximately 75 percent of waste collected by volunteers during the past 40 years is plastic, and 80 percent of trash collected originates on land before it would otherwise likely make its way into waterways and eventually the ocean.
The California Coastal Commission was established by voter initiative in 1972 (Proposition 20), and was made permanent by the legislature through adoption of the California Coastal Act of 1976.
The number of local sites estimated was based on this map of participating locations.