Past Events

Zero Waste Coastal Cleanup Day 2019 – Sept 21

August 22, 2019

Coastal Cleanup Day is Saturday
September, 21, 2019!

Join the effort to staunch the flow of the estimated millions of tons of garbage in our oceans by participating in California’s Coastal Cleanup Day.

As longtime NEC supporters know, Coastal Cleanup Day had its humble beginnings right here in Humboldt County as a program of the NEC. Now international, the event is celebrated worldwide and is the single largest volunteer event in support of the marine environment. With your help, over 1,000 Humboldt County Coastal Cleanup Day volunteers remove about seven tons of trash and recyclables from our beaches, rivers, bay and estuaries each year. Coupled with efforts throughout the state and around the world, Coastal Cleanup Day makes a quantitative difference in how much trash enters our ocean.

Poster art for 2019 Zero Waste Coastal Cleanup Day, art by Mir de Silva. — Poster for the NEC’s Zero Waste Coastal Cleanup Day. Original godwit art by Mir de Silva.

The Northcoast Environmental Center coordinates 60+ cleanups throughout Humboldt County—requiring an immense amount of staff time and community coordination. We are seeking site captains and volunteers, as well as financial sponsorships to cover coordination costs. Many thanks to all our cleanup volunteers, and site captains—many of whom come back to help year after year!

The NEC’s first Zero Waste Coastal Cleanup Day!

This year, we’re taking beach cleanups back to the basics and reframing them to be the educational tools that they are meant to be. At the rate that the plastics issue is growing globally—and now with the recognition that plastics production and use are contributing to climate change—we recognize that in order to really make a difference we must work together to stop pollution at its source.

This is why the NEC is taking a stand against single-use plastics and re-framing Humboldt County’s Coastal Cleanup Day. This year our focus will be on educating the public about the difference that every individual has the power to make. We will no longer be accepting single-use plastic bags or single-use gloves for our cleanups. We will also be taking a stand against the corporate plastic water bottle companies that sponsor cleanups to green wash their public image.