■ Volunteers remove 31,000 pounds of garbage from Solano County waterways
Volunteers cleared Solano County waterways of more than 31,000 pounds of garbage Saturday morning, gathering trash and recyclables at 60 different sites, Marianne Butler, environmental eduction program manager, said.
Butler said 2,502 participated at the county level, part of the 100,000 who spent Saturday morning cleaning up beaches, creeksides and watersheds throughout California.
“We had the largest number of cleanup sites ever this year,” said Butler, environmental education manager of the Solano Resource Conservation District, as well as Solano County’s Coastal Cleanup Day Coordinator.
In previous years, volunteers worked at 58 sites, she said.
“Our volunteer numbers were higher than last year, although the amount of trash and recyclables collected was lower. We haven’t figured out exactly why that was, but we will.”
What started 30 years ago as a state-level volunteer effort has grown beyond the boundaries of the United States, Butler said.
“These volunteers were part of an international cleanup effort to protect the world’s oceans from harmful debris making its way to coastlines from local beaches, waterways and inland areas,” she said.
She said in Solano County, volunteers worked from 9 a.m. to noon to remove 31,061 pounds of trash and 2,354 pounds of recyclables from 75 miles of neighborhood parks, hiking trails, bridges, creeks and lakes, as well as coastlines.
Butler said 17 of the county’s cleanup sites were “zero waste” sites, meaning they generated nearly no trash of their own. That’s double the number that were considered “zero waste” sites last year, she said.
“To make that happen, over 600 volunteers brought their own reusable equipment to the event,” she said.
Narcisa Untal, Solano County integrated waste management planner, said she was pleased with the number of zero waste sites, and the increase in the number of volunteers who came equipped with their own reusable cleanup equipment.
“Our volunteers always go the extra effort to make Solano County’s Coastal Cleanup event a success,” Untal said.
“More and more people are participating in the ‘bring your own’ aspect of the program, making the cleanup effort even more effective,” she said.
“And, all the new volunteers are great to see! These people make a real difference in their community, with hands-on involvement.”
At all sites, volunteers collected buckets full of plastic bags, food wrappers and cigarette butts while heavy lifters removed tires, paint cans and large appliances.
“As always, there were a few especially notable discoveries,” Butler said.
“The award for this year’s most memorable find of the day goes to the Rindler Creek site in Vallejo.”
While working there, Doug Darling and other volunteers found what appeared to be a stolen safe in the creek, Butler said.
Someone clearly had tried to break into the safe prior to its being found Saturday, Butler said, but the safe was still intact and locked, “guarding whatever treasures it contained.”
Jennifer Kaiser, Coastal Cleanup Day coordinator for Vallejo, said police would take custody of the safe.
“The scariest find occurred at Lake Solano, where the 14-person dive team pulled a gun from the lake,” Kaiser said.
Police were notified about that discovery, too, she said.
Steve Souza, of the new Facebook club “Kayaking and Biking Vallejo,” went to Lake Chabot to clean up trash.
“Steve lives in Vacaville, but grew up in Vallejo,” Butler said. “He enjoys creating positive activities whenever possible in the community.”
Souza joined a fleet of 25 vessels and captains who cruised various waterways Saturday morning to gather trash out of the water.
Douglas Longmire, a member of Fight Back Vallejo, has been the site captain in Dan Foley Park since 2007. Longmire said a moderate number of volunteers showed up at his site, but they worked “hard and diligently,” Butler said.
“The lighter turnout trend at individual sites was seen across the county, though overall volunteer participation was up this year,” she said.
She blamed last year’s lower turnout on a “torrential downpour.”
Sarah Graham, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said her faith emphasizes serving others. At the request of her bishop, Graham organized a group for Coastal Cleanup.
More than 65 church members, neighbors, Girl Scout troops and a Boy Scout troop volunteered, Butler said.
“Sarah was thrilled with her Coastal Cleanup experience,” Butler said, adding that Graham told her, “I love how a simple thing like picking up trash to beautify our waterways brings people together regardless of faith or organization. I enjoy the opportunity to meet new people and expand my circle of friends.”
Graham told Butler she also was glad to see volunteers from outside her own group joining to clean the same creek.
“So much got done in such a short period of time because of the many hardworking volunteers,” she told Butler. “My children were happy to be a part of something so big and have learned that there is joy in service.
“That is the best reward of all.”
Butler said the cleanup effort “made a real difference to the watersheds,” and that the work will improve habitat for wildlife as well as make the waterways safer for recreation and exploration.
“They left the sites they worked on in much better shape than they found them,” she said of volunteers. “More importantly, those sites won’t be sending debris downstream and into the ocean. The plants and wildlife that depend on clean water and habitat — both in the county and on the coast — are better off than they were earlier this morning.”