LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Dozens of Lake County residents were among the tens of thousands of volunteers who took part statewide in the California Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 15.

The California Coastal Commission, which organizes the statewide event, said the 34th annual event – part of the International Coastal Cleanup organized by Ocean Conservancy – had the largest cleanup of sites in its history.

More than 53,000 volunteers collected an estimated 698,931 pounds of trash and an additional 35,674 pounds of recyclable materials, for a total of 734,606 pounds or 367 tons, the commission reported.

One thousand sites statewide – from beaches to shorelines and inland waterways in 55 of 58 counties – were included. The commission reported that cleanups took place up and down the coast, from the Oregon to Mexico border and as far inland as Lake Tahoe.

Lake County Department of Water Resources staff were out at cleanup sites in Lake County on Sept. 15 to meet with volunteers, collect the trash and document what was picked up.

The five local sites were Keeling County Park in Nice and Rodman Slough County Park near north Lakeport, and in Clearlake, the Clear Lake Campground, the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and Pomo Elementary School.

In Clearlake, the group Citizens Caring for Clearlake played a big part in the event, both in terms of promotion and turnout, officials said.

Angela DePalma-Dow of Lake County Water Resources said there were 31 volunteers at the Clearlake sites who removed 400 pounds of trash.

At the two Northshore sites, eight volunteers removed 100 pounds of trash, she said.

DePalma-Dow said some of the trash items included tires, clothes, pallets, lots of plastic bottles and food cans. The No. 1 item: cigarette butts.

“We had a fantastic day along our coast and inland waterways that flow to the ocean from every corner of the state,” said Jack Ainsworth, executive director of the California Coastal Commission. “In only three hours, tens of thousands of Californians removed hundreds of tons of trash from our environment. It’s truly amazing what we can accomplish when we work together to protect our coast and ocean.”

The Coastal Commission continues to highlight to damage that trash, especially single-use disposable plastics, can cause to California’s wildlife, economy, and even human health.

According to past cleanup data, 75 percent of the debris that volunteers removed today was composed of plastic, a material that never completely biodegrades and has numerous harmful consequences in the environment.

The commission said volunteers picked up a number of “unusual” items during this year’s cleanup.

The winners of the 2018 Most Unusual Item contest are, in Northern California, a volunteer in Marin County found a painting of a marsh, in a marsh and, in Southern California, a volunteer in Los Angeles County found a Coca-Cola can from 1963.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.