By On Oct. 13, volunteers participated in a beach clean up at Junipero Beach, clearing away cigarette butts and other trash.
The month of October was “Bring Your Own” month, which gave opportunities for residents living in Long Beach to collect stamps by participating in events such as the cigarette beach clean up.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “Cigarette butts are the most common form of marine litter.”
Tory Romero, a recycling specialist working for the city of Long Beach, organized the Junipero Beach cleanup event and gave out gloves, trash-pickers and recycled Ikea bags to the volunteers.
“We decided to do special events throughout the month, teaching about sustainability in various ways through reuse, cleaning up our coast,” Romero said.
Long Beach residents volunteered at Junipero Beach to clean up trash and debris. The trash collected would range from plastics to condoms. Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
Will and Gloria Bravante, a couple who volunteered at the event, wanted to get into BYO month to contribute to the clean up.
“We go to the beaches around here and you notice how much plastic and trash is washing up…just from a human perspective, we want to help clean up and help make it better for ourselves and our neighbors,” Gloria said.
Throughout the event, volunteers filled up the city’s blue cans in front of the booth with trash and debris. Trash ranged from plastic cups from Starbucks to fishing nets, but one thing that was consistent from the clean up was cigarette butts.
Up to 90 pounds of trash was accounted for at the end of the event. Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
“It’s very important to highlight that this is a toxic piece of trash out there… we want to bring awareness to the city and host these kinds of events,” Romero said.
Kids also got the opportunity to participate in the event, with one of them bringing in a little more than 10 pounds worth of trash by themselves at the end of the event.
During the pandemic, the Long Beach Recovery Act helped the city with emergency funding of more than $360 billion given by the Biden administration. In the past, Long Beach has relied on grants to fund their budget because funding from the city went to other places.
However, as funds from the Long Beach Recovery Act are drying up, there is now disproportionate funding for departments like the Public Works Department and the Environmental Services Bureau.
According to the city’s budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, more than $311 million has been allocated to the Long Beach Police Department for 2025. The Public Works Department only has a proposed budget for more than $63 million for 2025.
The Environmental Services Bureau (part of the Public Works Department) received over $2 million. A portion of this funding is provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, and will be going towards educational efforts and activities such as the BYO beach clean up event.
Katherine Scully, an anthropology professor at Long Beach State, participated at the event. She said the city should have, “dedicated employees to promote initiatives and to help clean up the beaches.”
CSULB anthropology professor Katherine Scully and her partner volunteer at the beach clean up event. Photo Credit: Justin Enriquez
“At least incentivize people to do it somehow, to get more people,” Scully said.
The Public Works Department has a “Clean Team” which helps track graffiti and clean debris on sidewalks, but there is no mention of beaches.
