To a seagull, a set of plastic rings is nutrition worth a fight, and they often become ensnared and drown. In an attempt to prevent this scenario, thousands of volunteers showed up to clean Ocean Beach on September 15 for the 23rd annual Coastal Cleanup Day.

The California Coastal Commission (CCC) teamed up with the local chapter of the Surfrider organization, Wholefoods, See’s Candy, Alice 97.3 FM, and other sponsors for this event, featuring multiple tents with free food, raffles, and booming reggae tunes.

“We try to build an event within the event, so we can re-create it every year,” said Eben Schwartz, the CCC statewide coordinator. He said new additions such as sunrise yoga and vendors help turn the environmental effort into a celebration.

With over 1,000 people registered, Schwartz predicted at least 1,500 volunteers were already plucking refuse from the sand by 9:30 AM, more than three hours after the start of the event. At that same moment, he said, clean-ups were occurring at beaches, creeks, rivers, and lakes in 48 of the 58 counties in California.

High school students swarmed the sandy shore at Ocean Beach. Those from Mission High School carried a flag to distinguish themselves and a 10th grader from Lowell High School cleaned a fire pit.

Many teenagers in white jumpsuits diligently covered graffiti on the sea wall with gray paint. Mohammed Nuru of the Department of Public Works has been organizing the painting for at least four years.

Nuru said that students are recruited from local high schools, each institution receiving a section of the wall to paint. He is working to start a program in which each school will be allowed to design and adorn the wall with a mural.

Two sophomore girls from Sacred Heart High School said students jumped at the opportunity to be a wall painter, and that many were excited to be involved in the clean-up. Even standing in groups socializing, the young people filled their respective trash and recycle bags supplied by CCC representatives.

Notably absent from the clean-up was an abundance of current SF State students, although Will Rutledge of the ECO-Students environmental group said members planned to attend the event. There were at least five alumni present, and one current student, 22-year old senior Maria Lepe, a liberal studies major.

Lepe participated in the Earth Day beach clean-up last April, but admits she doesn’t come to clean on her own.

“People only [clean] on these days and don’t keep it up,” she said. Citing helping the environment as a priority, Lepe said, “I would come out again.”

In addition to monthly clean-ups by the CCC, the National Park Service (NPS), and SF Surfrider, the installation of 12 fire pits on April 14, 2007 was an advancement in the maintenance of Ocean Beach.

After NPS threatened to ban bonfires last year, Burners Without Borders teamed up with thousands of petitioners to raise $42,000 for the pits, several of which are functional art pieces designed by San Francisco locals. The success of the pits will be assessed at a progress meeting in October, according to SF Surfrider volunteer coordinator Barbara Lau.

“It does make a difference,” said Lau. “But if you think about it, you’re just concentrating the trash in certain areas and if we don’t have the [volunteer] support to clean them, it’s just like big trash pits every few feet.”

Surfrider arranges fire pit clean-ups at Ocean Beach every other Sunday. For more information go to www.sfsurfrider.org.