Trash Tracker

Give back to your community and to the Estuary by doing a cleanup!

Cleanups can be big or small

Next time you’re taking a walk or hike, bring a bag with you and pick up any trash you find! It’s that easy to help keep Morro Bay clean and healthy. Trash poses a problem for local wildlife when it blows, falls, or washes into creeks and the bay. Animals can eat the trash or become entangled in it, and plastic debris can leach chemicals into the water. It takes all of us working together to keep this trash out of our Bay!

Keeping track of the trash you find helps us!

With your data, we can see the type of trash found most often, where the trash is rescued from, and in what month it was picked up. This helps our program see local trends that help us prioritize places to clean up, decide which items seem problematic, and inspire changes to our community to alleviate problem areas or items.

Use this form to send us your trash data and contribute to our community science program:

 

    MORRO BAY TRASH TRACKER DIGITAL DATA SHEET

    Team Info

    Organization or Business Name (if applicable)

    Name or Team Leader(required)

    Email (required)

    Phone Number

    How many people are helping with this cleanup?

    Cleanup Info


    Date of Cleanup: ,

    Location

    Other City or County:

    Cleanup occurred near or in a(n) (required)

    Site Name(name of beach, park, etc. or closest landmark)

    Type of Cleanup

    Items Collected


    Bags (plastic, paper, etc.)

    Food Items (straws, bottles, cups, caps, wrappers, utensils, napkins, etc.)
    Party or Holiday Items (balloons, fireworks, silly string, streamers, etc.)
    Tobacco Products or Accessories (cigarette butts, lighters, packaging, etc.)
    Fishing or Hunting Items (fishing line, bullet shells, rope, buoys, bait containers, etc.)
    Large Debris (items larger than a basketball)
    Small Debris (small scraps, unidentifiable pieces, etc.)
    Other (write in) -

    Most Peculiar Items Collected:

    Number of Trash Bags Filled

    Total Estimated Weight Collected (use scales at home if possible!) lbs.

    Estimated Time Spent on Cleanup

    #TrashTracker

    You can also be part of cleanups throughout the year with other organizations and on your own and record your actions through events such as:

    • Coastal Cleanup Day (every third Saturday in September) This global cleanup effort is managed by the Ocean Conservancy with San Luis Obispo County cleanups organized by ECOSLO. The Estuary Program hosts a cleanup site on the sandspit in Morro Bay. No matter where you live, you can find a cleanup happening near you.
    • Morro Bay in Bloom’s Gardening Therapy Events (every Saturday in rotating locations) This local gardening club organizes weekly work parties to beautify the area with planting, weeding, and picking up trash in popular public areas.
    • #2minutebeachclean (anytime you choose) When you hit the beach or take a walk, remember to pick up what you see around you whether you dropped it or not. By helping gather wind-blown trash, lost items, and forgotten little pieces of junk, you can make a difference. Why not make the effort? It only takes two minutes!
    • Clean Swell App by the Ocean Conservancy Download this free phone app to keep track of when, where, and what you found during your solo cleanup. This app will track your efforts overtime so you can see how much of an impact you have made