The numbers are coming in and reveal that Goleta community members showed up big time for the September 17th Coastal Cleanup Day and Bulky Item Drop Off this past Saturday. The events kicked off SB Creek Week and were once again a great success. In all, the combined events resulted in more than 10,000 pounds of trash collected in Goleta alone.

City of Goleta Environmental Services Specialist Dan Rowell said, “The increased participation we see every year just goes to show how much our community cares about our creeks, watersheds, and the ocean. It was incredible to see so many people out on a Saturday morning either picking up trash from beaches or creeks, or bringing unwanted items to our bulky item drop off. Thanks to everyone who helps keep Goleta clean and beautiful!”

This year, Goleta had three Coastal Cleanup Day locations where 122 Volunteers collected 2,618 lbs of trash! Here is the breakdown:

- Haskell’s Beach (led by site captain Meghan Leon with Ritz-Carlton Bacara)

65 Volunteers

337 lbs of Trash Collected

- San Jose Creek (led by Brian Trautwein with the Environmental Defense Center)

25 Volunteers

2,152 lbs of Trash Collected

Ellwood Bluffs and Beach (led by resident Al Souma)

32 Volunteers

129 lbs of Trash Collected

Equally exciting, for our final Bulky Items Drop Off event this year at Cannon Green Drive and Phelps Road, there were more vehicle drop offs than ever before (68!) and as a result more than 7,500 pounds of trash was collected.

Thank you to Explore Ecology for coordinating Coastal Cleanup Day across Santa Barbara County and to all of those who volunteered. We are also very thankful for our partners at MarBorg Industries and Big Green Cleaning for their ongoing support.

The City is also thrilled with the amazing submissions received for the new Creek Week Art Contest at the Goleta Valley Library. The contest has concluded and winners will be announced soon. All artwork is on display at the library (500 N. Fairview Avenue) until October 2nd, 2022. Go check it out!