Talia Walsh, Heal the Bay communications associate director, shares this year’s preliminary list of beach trash finds in Los Angeles, California.

Coastal Cleanup Day is an annual community volunteering effort that reveals insights about the nature of ocean pollution. The 2018 Coastal Cleanup Day event in L.A. County brought together 13,464 individuals who removed over 29.8 tons of ocean-bound trash from 78 cleanup sites in 3 hours. These piles of trash tell a compelling story.

Gleaning early results reported anecdotally by Heal the Bay’s cleanup captains and volunteers, here are this year’s most common — and weirdest — hand-picked beach trash finds in L.A.:

Beach Trash Finds in Emoji:

1. ???? Plastics:  Single-use drink & food containers, Polystyrene, Tiny plastic pieces
2. ???? Smoking-Related:  Cigarette butts, Lighters, Cannabis packaging
3. ♻️ Recyclables: Glass, Paper, Metal
4. ???? Medical and Hygiene:  Syringes, Condoms, Diapers
5. ???? Feces:  Humans, Pets, Unknown
6. ???? Drugs:  Pipes, Powders, Pills
7. ???? Fishing Gear: Traps, Hooks, Nets
8. ???? Automobile Parts:  Frames, Engines, Tires
9. ???? Lost & Found:  Wedding Rings, Watches, Phones
10. ???? Shoes:  Sandals, Sneakers, Wedges
11. ???????? Broken Boards: Surfboards, Paddleboards, Boogie boards
12. ???? Suitcases: Wardrobe change, please!
13. ???? e-Waste: Cords, Parts, Batteries
14.  ????️ Weapons: Bullets, Shivs, Knives
15. ???? Electric Scooters: Underwater e-scooter hunt, anyone?

Looking at the above list, it seems we need to rapidly evolve our manner of thinking about product design and usability to combat rising ocean pollution. Here are some ways to start getting involved locally:

Coastal Cleanup Day is one of 735 cleanups Heal the Bay hosts a year. Check out our Marine Debris Database that houses information for 4 million pieces of trash collected by Heal the Bay volunteers in Los Angeles County. See the latest water quality updates for your favorite beach by installing our new Beach Report Card app for iOS or Android — and — visit the website at beachreportcard.org for the latest grades.

View L.A. County’s results from Coastal Cleanup Day 2018

View California’s results from Coastal Cleanup Day 2018

Take Part

Check out our next beach cleanup in L.A. County! Stay tuned for the full International Report for Coastal Cleanup Day to be released in the coming months. And sign up to receive a Registration Alert for Coastal Cleanup Day 2019.