In an effort to help clean up our coast during Coastal Cleanup Day, Antioch held its 4th Annual Coastal Kayak Clean-up Day on Friday September 15th. 8 volunteers went on kayaks to collect trash and debris along the Delta that is not accessible on foot. We are happy to report that our coastline is the cleanest its been in four year of doing the Kayak Clean-up. Thanks to the efforts from our volunteers, we were able to collect a total of 103 lbs of trash.
On Saturday, 100 volunteers joined 60,000 volunteers across all of California, in an effort to remove debris from beaches, creeks, rivers and lakes all around California. Antioch’s 33rd Annual Coastal Cleanup day was held at 3 different locations:
- Antioch Marina
- Antioch Water Park
- Fulton Shipyard Road
One of the most common items is still cigarette butts. There were larger items and general debris, as well, with approximately 40 cubic yards of debris collected overall. Special thanks to: the Rivertown Preservation Society for running the Marina check in, the Antioch Council of Teens for running the Prewett check in, and the Delta Protection Commission for running the check in at the Red Caboose.
Based on data collected by the Ocean Conservancy, the Top 10 Items Collected in 2016 were:
- Cigarette Butts – 2,127,565
- Plastic Beverage Bottles – 1,024,470
- Food Wrappers – 888,589
- Plastic Bottle Caps – 861,340
- Straws, Stirrers – 439,571
- Other Plastic Bags – 424,934
- Glass Beverage Bottles – 402,122
- Plastic Grocery Bags – 402,122
- Metal Bottle Caps – 381,669
- Plastic Lids – 351,585
We had volunteers ranging from 3rd generation Antioch residents to a 2.5 year old from our neighboring town, Brentwood. One young resident in her early 20’s brought her elementary school nephews to teach them the importance of keeping our coastline clean. A large number of volunteers were from our local high schools. We had a family that was 2nd and 3rd generation Antioch residence. They both were born and raised in Antioch and felt that it was important to contribute their time to take care of their hometown.
Cleaning our coastline is a way of protecting our wildlife from harm and creating a cleaner environment for Antioch. As a community, we were able to come together and make a positive impact on the livelihood of our local coastline
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