More than 400 volunteers, including civilian, military and Harbor Police divers, will take to the shores of San Diego Bay on Saturday, August 29, 2015, to remove trash and debris in the 25th annual Operation Clean Sweep.
The annual event, sponsored by the San Diego Port Tenants Association (SDPTA), the Port of San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, Navy Region Southwest, EDCO Disposal, the U.S. Coast Guard and dozens of SDPTA member businesses, with assistance this year from the Urban Corps of San Diego, is one of the largest environmental cleanup efforts on the West Coast. Boaters collect floating debris, divers pull trash from the bottom of the Bay, and hundreds of volunteers pick up garbage along the shoreline and watershed.
Since Operation Clean Sweep began in 1990, 42 sites have been cleaned, over 10,000 people have volunteered to help, and over 370 boats have been donated to assist with the cleanup. From 2010 through 2014 alone, approximately 200,000 pounds of debris were removed from the bay and its shoreline.
Most of the necessary volunteers for this event have already committed to participate through sign-up efforts by various Port tenants, Port staff, the Navy and the Coast Guard.
