By Kristina Pritchett
Members and volunteers of the Doheny Longboard Surfing Association (DLSA) walked the Doheny State Beach Tuesday morning, searching for trash from the holiday’s beach day.
This tradition started more than 25 years ago when members of the DLSA would notice how much trash the beach collected on the Fourth. Today, the number of volunteers and members has grown, as well as their determination to keep the sands clean.
“This is our playground, we want to keep it clean,” said Santa Ana resident Charlie Bobroff.
Members of the organization started around 7:30 a.m., picking up litter from the jetty to the Doheny State Beach headquarters. They filled trash bags with plastic water bottle caps, beer cans, food wrappers and more. But, despite how much they cleaned, DSLA President Mark Gale said this wasn’t the worst year yet.
“I’d say this was a four out of 10. There’s a lot of mess near the surf wall, but you can tell people tried to clean because the trashcans were all full,” Gale said.
Nancy Grey of San Clemente agreed.
“I’m amazed the beach was as clean as it was,” Grey said. “But, it could have had something to do with the holiday being on a Monday.”
Helping clean up the beach were members of the National Charity League Monarch Chapter.
“We participate every year,” said Diane Rippe. “We want clean beaches for families that come here. It’s also important to keep the oceans clean.”
The group’s next big clean-up will come later in the fall.
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