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Volunteers clean up beaches after holiday crowds

Post-holiday beach cleanups sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation of San Diego are scheduled Friday at three locations in San Diego and one spot in Oceanside.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Hundreds of volunteers helped clean up four beaches in San Diego and Oceanside after Fourth of July celebrations.

"Morning After Mess" cleanups were held at Belmont Park, Crystal Pier and Ocean Beach Pier in San Diego, and the beach at the south harbor jetty in Oceanside, were sponsored by the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

Ocean Beach was the biggest mess because of an annual marshmallow fight that has grown in popularity in recent years, Haley Haggerstone of the foundation said. She called it "a sticky mess."

"We want to pick it up before it gets out to sea and starts contributing to the pollution problems in our ocean," Haggerstone explained.

The amount of waste collected each year has decreased since a ban on alcohol at San Diego beaches went into effect in 2008, she said.

Totals of how much was collected at this year's cleanup were unavailable Friday morning.

Last year, volunteers picked up 2,607 pounds of trash and 191 pounds of recyclables, according to the foundation. The collected litter included 559 plastic bags and 13,200 cigarette butts.

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