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Creek to Bay Clean-up: Help pick up PPE, single-use plastics on April 24

CBS 8 is celebrating Earth Week by teaming up with 'I Love a Clean San Diego' for the 19th annual 'Creek to Bay Clean-up' on April 24th.

SAN DIEGO — The Creek to Bay Cleanup is scheduled for April 24 and participants are encouraged to register for the event. 

To sign-up for the Creek to Bay Cleanup, click here

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The marshy wetlands surrounding Pacific Beach’s Rose Creek is not only home to bicyclists, birds and butterflies but is just minutes from Mission Bay, tying it closely to San Diego’s most precious resource, our ocean. 

This is why clearing trash from watersheds, beaches and areas that are tied so closely to our ocean, is vital, for keeping up our coastal ecosystem clean.

“Once plastic is in the environment, it never goes away.” Ian Monahan of I Love a Clean San Diego, said. “It turns into what’s called microplastics and we are finding they are infecting our food system, especially sea life. “

Just outside the Rose Creek Cottage, Ian and his son Ewen take a minute to show me how much litter there can be, just off the beaten path. 

He said that since the start of the pandemic, he’s seen a huge increase of single-use plastics such as take-out containers and flimsy bags, but the biggest offender? PPE, especially masks.

While it’s important to pick up that trash when you see it, Monahan is encouraging San Diego to come out in force for the 19th annual Creek to Bay Cleanup. Last year, volunteers reported picking up over 15,000 pounds of trash all over the county, but this year, they’re hoping to double it.

“You can participate no matter where you live in San Diego County,” Monahan said. “Get out and check out your neighborhood, because, as a citizen scientist, even the small things that you find that are pollutants are as important as the big things.”

The Creek to Bay Cleanup is scheduled for April 24 and participants are encouraged to register for the event. 

In the meantime, Monahan wants people to stay vigilant to keep San Diego shining. 

To sign-up for the Creek to Bay Cleanup, click here

WATCH: 18th Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup kicks off a little differently this weekend

   

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