San Diego beaches and bay parks are a popular destination for Fourth of July revelers from near and far. For the holiday on Friday, police will be out in full force, and local groups are putting out about 100 temporary trash and recycling bins.
In Pacific Beach on Tuesday, the San Diego Police Department joined the San Diego City Attorney’s office and a coalition of groups, including I Love A Clean San Diego, to encourage people to be safe this weekend and to also keep the beaches and parks clean.
“There is no glass allowed on the beach, so a reminder, if you’re going to have things like ketchup, mustard, relish — that kind of stuff, jars — make sure it’s plastic and when they’re done with it, let’s make sure they put all necessary trash in it’s proper receptacle,” SDPD Capt. J.R. Hara said.
Glass, alcohol, littering and smoking are not allowed at San Diego city beaches.
“We’re talking about all surrounding areas, not just the sand, but the boardwalk, the grass areas, the adjacent lots to the beach areas,” Hara said.
Pauline Martinson with I Love A Clean San Diego says not leaving any trash behind reduces your impact on the environment.
“The purpose is to prevent litter from entering the beach and ocean,” Martinson said.
Over the past seven years, I Love A Clean San Diego and other groups have collected 2.7 million pounds of trash and recyclables using temporary trash bins during holiday weekends.
“It’s so important that our children that come to the beach over the holiday weekend, that they see how it is to have fun in a clean beach and so when they grow up they can take their kids to the beach on the Fourth of July and it could still be as pristine,” Martinson said.
The San Diego City Attorney’s Instant Justice program is back this year, which allows people who commit certain infractions to work off their fine on Monday, July 7.
On Saturday, I Love A Clean San Diego will be hosting a cleanup site at Belmont Park for the Surfrider Foundation’s annual Morning After Mess cleanup.
Other cleanup locations include Oceanside Pier, Crystal Pier and Ocean Beach. All cleanups go from 8-11 a.m.
