Cleanup Is Fun

 WHEN

There are three cleanups each year on the Long Beach Peninsula. The first one is in January, the second in April, and the third – and biggest – one is the day after the Fourth of July.

Each event begins around 9:30 AM on a Saturday and finishes up between 11:30 and noon. All volunteers are then treated to hot clam chowder. (We’ll have other soups, too, if clam chowder isn’t your Soup of Choice!) Check with the organizers for the location of this delicious, local specialty lunch. Soup is usually served between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM.

On the Friday evening preceding each cleanup, there will be an evening event which you are invited to attend.  This may include a speaker or other interesting programming, so be sure to check this website as we get closer to the cleanup time.

WHERE

The Peninsula boasts seven major Beach Approach Roads. Beach Approach Coordinators will be at each one of these to greet you. These approaches are: Seaview, Sid Snyder Drive, Bolstad, Cranberry, Klipsan, Bay Avenue and Oysterville Road.

If you are coming to the Peninsula to lend your support and would like directions, please click here: http://funbeach.com/maps-directions/local-maps/

HOW

  • Come prepared. Be sure to wear sturdy shoes which do NOT have open toes. Protective gloves are a must – and heavy work gloves are best! Rain gear and a hat are helpful for both inclement weather and to keep from getting a sunburn in good weather.
  • Remember:  Never turn your back on the ocean!!!
  • The Beach Approach Coordinator will give you bags and “picker-uppers” and show you where we need your help most and where to put the trash you collect.
  • Look for garbage closer to the middle of the sandy area. (Garbage is not normally lying around at the edge of the ocean on the sand, except during the 4th of July holiday.)
  • Collect the following litter:
    1. All plastics
    2. All glass
    3. All metals
    4. All waxed cardboard
    5. All ‘spent’ fireworks parts
    6. Wood pieces which contain nails or other sharp objects
    7. All twine, rope and fishnet
  • Leave the following items on the beach:
    1. ‘Clean’ wood (without nails or sharp objects).  This will soon become firewood on the beach for the enjoyment of beachgoers.
    2. Dead birds: These are monitored by COASST (Coastal Operations and Seabird Survey Crew) volunteers.
    3. Dead animals.
  • When you’re done, leave your filled bags at the high tide mark for our trucks to haul in.  You may run across items which are too large or too heavy to move.  Please tell the Approach Coordinator about the item and its location so we can work to have it removed.
  • Please return any unused supplies to the Beach Approach Coordinator.
  • Be sure to join us for a hot meal – Chili, Clam Chowder, Veg. Split Pea or the Soup of the Day!