If you visited the coast this past Saturday, you might have seen hard-working volunteers scouring the beaches and coastline for trash that had been left behind or washed up. Volunteers were out in force as part of a statewide and international effort (California Coastal Cleanup Day & International Coastal Cleanup Day) to protect coastal ecosystems and water quality by keeping trash off of our beaches and out of the water.
Actions add up!
In 2024, Surfrider volunteers collected 365,218 pounds of trash during 1,268 cleanups that engaged 39,350 volunteers across the country.
Image: Top 10 items collected across Surfrider beach cleanups from the 2024 Beach Cleanup Annual Report.
Beach Cleanups serve a variety of functions beyond just removing trash from our beaches and coast. These events are an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of waste-related pollution, while giving people an immediate and tangible action to take. Beyond that, the data collected during each cleanup informs program and policy work at Surfrider to upstream the problem and stop pollution at its source.
“After participating in the beach cleanup and searching for cigarette butts, I’m now seeing them everywhere I look- on and off the beach. It is so frustrating that people just litter like this and it makes me want to take further action.”
-Josh, Surfrider San Francisco beach cleanup participant
Coastal Cleanup Day 2025
From Humboldt to San Diego, more than a dozen Surfrider chapters in California led cleanups up and down the coast. Not only did volunteers make a big impact by removing trash from our coast, but in true Surfrider style they made it fun. Some chapters kicked off their cleanup with beach yoga, others had live music to keep the energy up, and some celebrated their hard work with a post-cleanup paddle.
Check out some of the amazing cleanups that took place along the California coast!
Find your local Surfrider chapter to get involved today.
Surfrider California Cleanups
The Humboldt Chapter and the Cal Poly Humboldt Surfrider Club teamed up and removed 125 pounds of trash!
The Sonoma Coast Chapter participated in two cleanups, teaming up with CoastWalk and The Sonoma Academy Surfrider Club.
More than 200 volunteers came out to clean up Ocean Beach with the San Francisco Surfrider Chapter.
The San Mateo County Chapter had a huge turnout, nearly 300 volunteers came together and removed 315 lbs of trash and 6 lbs of recycling from our coast.
The NCL Orchard Valley chapter joined the cleanup- coming out in force and donating beautiful buckets and pickers to make the day a success. There was also live surf rock jams from The Young Barons keeping the energy high 🤙 and Ocean Friendly Restaurant, Pacific Catch, hooked all the volunteers up with free starter vouchers as a thank-you for showing the ocean some love 🌊💙.
The Monterey Chapter teamed up with Monterey Expeditions and Save Our Shores to clean up the beach and the water after starting the day with some beach yoga. Even the CSUMB Softball team came out to help!
The South Orange County Chapter led an impactful stewardship event at Trestles. From surfers to families, first-timers to seasoned cleanup crews, Coastal Cleanup Day brought out the best of the beach community.
The Santa Cruz Chapter Chapter removed 27 lbs of trash with the help of 45 volunteers and the Ventura County Chapter removed a whopping 1,700 lbs of trash with the help of 48 volunteers.
The South Bay, North Orange County, and San Diego Chapters all held cleanups as well and the Long Beach Chapter held an Ocean Friendly Garden Workday to upstream the problem and prevent some of the pollution before it reaches our beaches.
Thank you to all of the amazing volunteers who showed up and left our beaches and coast cleaner than you found them.
If you weren't able to join a cleanup this time around, it's not too late! Find your local chapter and be part of the solution.
You can find the results of the Coastal Cleanup Day events and more at our cleanups database.