Keep Sunset Clean

By SARAH SHMERLING | Managing Editor

On Saturday, Dec. 2, 1,601 pounds of trash were collected from Sunset Beach during a cleanup effort organized by Palisadian Patrick Migliazzo and his wife, Baylee Zwart, with support from Surfrider Foundation.

“We’re both pretty active with ocean stuff,” Migliazzo shared of his inspiration to organize the event. “We’re both surfers.”

Over the course of the cleanup, 65 volunteers—ranging from 5 to over 70 years old—filled over 30 industrial bags with trash. Among those who helped out were passersby and surfers who stopped when they saw the cleanup effort.

“We had two or three people at all times, for three hours straight, sorting the trash as recycle or landfill,” Migliazzo said.

The end result was 586 pounds of recyclable bottles and cans.

The most common kinds of trash were fast food wrappers and sauce packets, beer cans and bottles, bottle caps, and cigarette butts—which, Migliazzo explained, are actually made from plastic fibers. They will be sent to TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that melts down the discarded butts and turns them into things like park benches.

“We pulled [around] three bike tires and two wheels from under the rocks,” Migliazzo said. They also found “a lot of small kids toys, plastic toys and dog toys.”

Volunteers focused on the rocky area of the beach.

“Where the bulk of the trash comes from is when you take two steps out and look down at the rocks,” Migliazzo explained. “Trash is tossed in there.”

Migliazzo and Zwart were involved with the Los Angeles chapter of Surfrider Foundation when they moved from Santa Monica to Pacific Palisades one-and-a-half years ago. Though the foundation helps out at many local beaches, there was not a cleanup at Sunset Beach, which is across the street from where the couple moved, so they started one.

“This wouldn’t be possible without the support of Surfrider Foundation,” Migliazzo explained. He also secured local sponsors: Chipotle, Whole Foods, Gladstones and Ralphs.

The plan is to host cleanups once per month, with the next one in mid-January. Anyone interested in helping out can follow @keepsunsetclean on Instagram for announcements about future cleanup dates.