Coastal Cleanup Day will run from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 20. Volunteers at the cleanup day will participate in a “trashure hunt” and might come across prizes hidden by site captains while picking up trash and recyclables. Photo courtesy of Solano Resource Conservation District

SOLANO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - For 41 years, California Coastal Cleanup Day has been a major volunteer event, bringing thousands of people together to clean up our state’s waterways.

This year, organizers will put a new spin on the search for trash: a scavenger hunt. Volunteers at this year’s Coastal Cleanup Day will participate in the world’s largest “trashure hunt” and might come across prizes hidden by site captains while picking up trash and recyclables. Here in Solano County, prizes range from tote bags to gift cards to the grand prize: two season passes to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.

Coastal Cleanup Day will run from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Sept. 20, when volunteers can join their neighbors to clean up their communities. There will be 43 sites around the county with at least one in every city. Volunteers should bring their own work gloves, trash pickers, buckets and reusable water bottles and sites will have some of these supplies on hand. Locations are listed at cleanupsolano.org, and some sites require or encourage pre-registration.

Keeping trash out of our waterways in Solano County is incredibly important for preventing further pollution of our oceans. Waste in our creeks and streams eventually flows out into the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. In 2024, food and beverage packaging was the largest category of debris, making up 37.55% of what was collected by volunteers statewide. Recyclables collected will also contribute to California's goal of an 80% recycling rate for all aluminum, glass, plastic and bimetal beverage containers sold in California.

Community members can do their part in preventing ocean pollution by joining a cleanup event and bringing their friends and family. Data collected on Coastal Cleanup Day contributes to the world’s largest database on plastic pollution that, in turn, has been used to help policymakers find solutions to help prevent such pollution.