Month: September 2025

SAN DIEGO — This morning, more than 3,000 San Diegans joined I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) at 101 cleanup sites across the county for the 41^st annual Coastal Cleanup Day.

Volunteers across the county restored, beautified, and protected the health of San Diego’s beloved beaches, canyons, rivers, and parks. As of 2:00 p.m., with 70% of sites reporting totals, an estimated 55,000 pounds of litter and debris were removed from San Diego communities and diverted from polluting local waterways and the Pacific Ocean. Final cleanup totals will be confirmed in the coming days.

Mayor Todd Gloria addressed more than 160 volunteers gathered at the kickoff site at Robb Field in Ocean Beach to thank them for their support and speak to the importance of keeping San Diego clean. The site also featured educational booths, waste-sorting stations, and more.

Volunteers logged what they were finding in an app that feeds into the largest marine database in the world. This information is then used to inform environmental priorities.

Cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps, and food wrappers are the most commonly found items. Other items found today include a bicylce wheel, a couch cushion, remnants of fireworks, and more.

ILACSD has been the official organizer of Coastal Cleanup Day in San Diego County since its inception in 1985. Over the last 41 years, more than 270,000 volunteers have removed over 5 million pounds of litter across San Diego County on Coastal Cleanup Day. The event is part of the global International Coastal Cleanup, which unites millions of volunteers across more than 150 countries each year to tackle plastic pollution and protect the health of our oceans.

Coastal Cleanup Day is supported locally by presenting sponsors Niagara Cares and Think Blue San Diego as well as our Gold Sponsors: Bank of America, The County of San Diego, Cox Communications, PNC Bank, Northrop Grumman, SDGE, Project Clean Water, and Wells Fargo.

Get Involved Year-Round

Coastal Cleanup Day may be over, but the work continues. I Love A Clean San Diego hosts community cleanups, zero waste workshops, clothing swaps, and other volunteer opportunities throughout the year. San Diegans can sign up for upcoming events at CleanSD.org to keep making a difference in their communities.

What is Coastal Cleanup Day?

Coastal Cleanup Day is more than just picking up litter, it’s about protecting the places we love. Each piece of trash removed is one less threat to our wildlife, waterways, and communities. With plastic pollution on track to outweigh fish in the ocean by 2050, this global day of action unites thousands of San Diegans with volunteers across the world to stop pollution at its source and safeguard our environment for future generations.

Since its founding in 1985, Coastal Cleanup Day has mobilized over 269,000 volunteers in San Diego County, removing more than 5 million pounds of litter and debris. The event is part of International Coastal Cleanup, organized globally by The Ocean Conservancy and statewide by the California Coastal Commission. Data collected from each site contributes to the world’s largest marine debris database.

About I Love A Clean San Diego

I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) is an environmental nonprofit that has supported residents and businesses of San Diego County through youth and adult education, and local action through impactful volunteer events and workshops since 1954. As San Diego’s most influential advocate for sustainability, I Love A Clean San Diego’s programs are an environmental catalyst, awakening passion and inspiring action to empower everyone to be leaders in conservation and waste-free living. Our community is passion in action to maintain and improve the health of the home we love. For more information, to volunteer or donate, visit cleansd.org or call (619) 291-0103.

 

 

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A countywide movement led by a new coalition rallies thousands of San Diegans to take action and pledge to ‘Recycle. Compost. Reduce Litter. Every Day.’

 

SAN DIEGO – Sept. 17, 2025 – Local nonprofit I Love A Clean San Diego, in collaboration with Niagara Cares, launched its new eight-month “LOVE SD” campaign to create a sustainable future for our community. The two organizations, along with coalition partners, hosted a beach cleanup at Belmont Park and the surrounding Mission Beach community on Tuesday, Sept. 2 to mark the launch. The event brought together local residents and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who joined volunteers to pick up trash and support the cause.

 

Over 120 volunteers came together, combing the beach and surrounding areas to pick up litter. Post-holiday cleanups bring neighbors together to restore our beach communities after the festivities, ensuring these shared spaces remain safe, welcoming, and beautiful for everyone to enjoy while protecting San Diego’s vibrant coastline and watershed. Approximately 120 pounds of litter was collected during the two-hour cleanup event.

 

The “LOVE SD” campaign was founded by Niagara Cares, the charitable division of Niagara Bottling, the family-run beverage company that has hydrated America since 1963. Niagara Cares brought together a coalition of other nonprofit partners to support the campaign, including Keep America Beautiful®, DoSomething.org and The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). Together, the coalition aims to mobilize thousands of local volunteers from all generations to protect San Diego’s ecosystem.

 

“We’re excited to launch our ‘LOVE SD’ initiative in collaboration with our coalition partners who are also working to better and strengthen our community,” says Steve Morris, executive director, I Love A Clean San Diego. “Through this eight-month campaign, we want to remind San Diegans everywhere, from the coast to the desert to the mountains, to show love for our region through simple acts like recycling, composting, and picking up litter. No action is too small to keep trash off our streets and out of our ocean. San Diegans, regardless of age, cherish our natural environment and spaces, and this campaign will amplify that appreciation while inspiring action.”

 

Protecting San Diego’s natural beauty for generations to come

“LOVE SD” is a countywide movement that inspires San Diegans of all ages, local businesses, and organizations to care for their communities through environmental action, and to take a simple but powerful pledge through Earth Month in April 2026: Recycle. Compost. Reduce Litter. Every Day. The campaign also hopes to raise San Diego’s recycling rate. While the city’s 67% rate is higher than the state average (40%), 76% of what ends up in San Diego’s landfill is recyclable.

 

The campaign is designed to celebrate and protect San Diego’s vibrant environment, while inspiring locals to take daily actions to make a lasting difference in the health and beauty of their community. To educate and inspire action in our community, I Love A Clean San Diego and their coalition partners will host events across the county and large-scale cleanups. In addition to events, the eight-month program will be promoted through bus shelter ads, trolley wraps, radio advertisements, and digital ads.

 

“LOVE SD” is the expansion of the LOVE YOUR HAPPY PLACE Campaign, launched by Niagara Cares as part of their commitment to providing access, infrastructure, and education on recycling to local communities. The LOVE YOUR HAPPY PLACE Campaign launched last year with LOVE ATX in Austin, Texas, increasing local recycling rates at home from 22% to 32%. Upcoming cities for the LOVE YOUR HAPPY PLACE Campaign include Los Angeles, Oakland, and Denver, among others. Through this collaboration, Niagara Cares continues its mission to support initiatives that foster community wellness, innovation, and stewardship.

 

“LOVE SD” unites San Diegans around the shared goal of keeping our home clean, green, and thriving. “Love requires action, and true love for San Diego is shown in how we care for and protect our home,” says Morris. “From picking up litter to recycling, composting, and conserving resources, every action counts. Whether you’re a visitor, a newcomer, or a lifelong resident, we can all make a difference together.”

 

To get involved with the “LOVE SD” campaign and I Love A Clean San Diego, visit cleansd.org to explore events and activities across the region.

 

ABOUT THE “LOVE SD” COALITION PARTNERS

Niagara Cares is the heart of what we do and who we are at Niagara Bottling. For more than 60 years, we have been making a difference for our Team Members, consumers and communities through philanthropic giving, volunteering, water donations and disaster relief. As a family-owned business, we are committed to creating meaningful change for our communities through a spirit of giving back both big and small. For more information, visit niagarawater.com/niagara-cares.

 

Niagara Bottling, LLC has been family owned and operated since 1963. Headquartered in Diamond Bar, Calif., Niagara operates bottling facilities throughout the U.S. and Mexico. As a leading U.S. beverage manufacturer, Niagara Bottling works closely with some of the largest retailers, grocers, club and convenience stores throughout the country. Niagara produces a variety of beverages including bottled water, sparkling, vitamin and flavored water, teas, sports drinks, ready-to-drink coffee, protein drinks and non-dairy milk products. For more information, visit www.niagarawater.com.

 

I Love A Clean San Diego is an environmental nonprofit that has supported residents and businesses of San Diego County through youth and adult education, and local action through impactful volunteer events and workshops since 1954. As San Diego’s most influential advocate for sustainability, I Love A Clean San Diego’s programs are an environmental catalyst, awakening passion and inspiring action to empower everyone to be leaders in conservation and waste-free living. Our community is passion in action to maintain and improve the health of the home we love. For more information, to volunteer or donate, visit cleansd.org or call (619) 291-0103.

 

Keep America Beautiful® is the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful® strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green, and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of 700 Keep America Beautiful® affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.

 

DoSomething.org is the leading digital hub for youth-centered impact and service with over 1 million active members and a 32-year legacy of activating over 8 million young people in every U.S. area code and 189 countries to take action. We fuel young people to change the world. We specialize in transforming civically curious young people into civically committed leaders. Our actions and programs educate and equip young people, ages 13 to 25, to build solutions to the issues that matter most to them. DoSomething has registered 425,000 young people to vote since 2018 and awarded nearly $2 million in scholarships to young people committed to doing good in their communities since 2010.

 

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is the leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. With more than 60,000 members, NRPA advances this mission by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals and advocates — the catalysts for positive change in service of equity, environmental resilience and health and well-being. For more information, visit nrpa.org. For digital access to NRPA’s flagship publication, Parks & Recreation, visit parksandrecreation.org.

 

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