The city of San Diego will debut a community-driven series of trash and debris cleanups this Saturday, city leaders announced Wednesday.
At 8 a.m. on July 13, the city will kickoff "Second Saturdays" downtown. The goal of the volunteer effort is to expand the cleanups throughout the city with small groups of volunteers collecting litter in their neighborhoods on the second Saturday of each month.
"This community collaboration epitomizes what San Diego is all about: working together to make our city a better place for all of us," Mayor Todd Gloria said. "This partnership gives every San Diegan the opportunity to help beautify their neighborhoods while stopping pollution before it reaches our most precious natural resources: our world-famous beaches and bays. I can't wait to see what a difference we can make together."
Organizers are seeking up to 200 volunteers for the initial cleanup event downtown. Volunteers can register at cleansd.org. Gloria and City Councilman Stephen Whitburn will join volunteers for the kickoff event to be held in the Civic Concourse outside City Hall.
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The nonprofit Street Stewards will help coordinate the effort by identifying neighborhood captains to organize the monthly cleanups. The organization began in 2018 when a small group of friends in Ocean Beach launched a Facebook page promoting and mapping block adoptions to reduce litter and keep their neighborhood clean, a city statement read.
"I'm excited about how quickly the concept grows in each and every neighborhood we introduce it to," said Aaron Null, co-director of Street Stewards. "People genuinely 'get it,' sign on, and then we are off to the races seeing early adopters catch on quickly, then the masses get ahold of the idea and run with it."
Other organizations involved in the events include I Love A Clean San Diego, The Downtown San Diego Partnership, Think Blue San Diego, Ace Parking and San Diegans Together Tackling Homelessness.
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"We are grateful for these organizations coming together to remove trash and debris from the streets of downtown," said Steve Morris, executive director of I Love A Clean San Diego. "Any litter not properly disposed of has the potential to enter our waterways via storm drains. As more than 80% of marine debris comes from inland sources, this cleanup is critical to maintain the health of the bay and, ultimately, the ocean."
