Thousands of Los Angeles County residents set aside their usual Saturday routines, grabbing buckets and trash bags to help remove litter from the region’s coastline.
The volunteer effort marked Heal the Bay’s 37th annual Coastal Cleanup Day, which offered more than 60 cleanup locations throughout the county.
In Venice and Santa Monica, participants moved across the shoreline, searching the sand for debris and filling buckets and bright orange bags with collected trash.
The yearly event brings communities together to clear beaches, waterways and other coastal spaces of garbage and recyclable materials.
Last year, Heal the Bay’s cleanup resulted in the removal of an estimated 19,000 pounds of trash.
Heal the Bay organized the Los Angeles campaign with the California Coastal Commission and Ocean Conservancy, supporting a wider push to limit pollution that threatens marine ecosystems and wildlife.
Cleanup events were also held throughout California on Saturday as part of the state’s 42nd annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.
Organizers expected about 50,000 volunteers to take part at more than 700 sites across all 58 counties, collecting litter from beaches, rivers and other waterways.
