Volunteers pick up trash during Heal the Bay's Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

Over 60 nations participated making this possibly the largest volunteer day on the planet! Coastal Cleanup Day (CCD) began in 1985 and has grown into a huge annual event. Every state with a coastline participates, including the Great Lakes states, and even some inland states clean river and lake shores. Heal the Bay and the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors are the Los Angeles County coordinators for the state of California's Coastal Cleanup Day. They bring out over 10,000 volunteers to cleanup sites each year in L.A. County to over 50 sites along Santa Monica Bay and along inland creeks and waterways. Last year, over 12,000 volunteers from Los Angeles County joined together to pick up over 180,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our beaches and waterwayCoastal Cleanup Day involves individuals, schools, community and company volunteer groups. Volunteers in Los Angeles County typically collect tens of thousands of pounds of trash and recyclable during a three-hour period. By filling out the trash "data cards" during the cleanup, volunteers are helping to identify and stop polluters in the future. Most people clean at the beach and on foot, but there are also special cleanups for inland creeks, boaters, kayakers, and divers. By far the most common item picked up are cigarette butts. Some of the more unusual items found in recent years were a chandelier, a briefcase full of graham crackers, and a bridal gown. Coastal Cleanup Day is held annually on the third Saturday of September.