OCEANSIDE — Two big coastal cleanups took place at Oceanside Harbor and Pier on May 11.San Diego Coastkeeper volunteers cleaned up Oceanside Harbor beach.Volunteers were encouraged to bring their own collection bags and buckets to avoid creating further waste.
Collected trash was sorted into types and tallied to help determine the amount of litter caused by beach goers, downstream flow and boat discards.
The same day Rubio’s World Oceans Day Beach Bash and Cleanup was held at Oceanside Pier. More than 600 volunteers cleaned up 359 pounds of trash during the morning cleanup.
Following the cleanup folks celebrated the ocean at an environmental awareness fair. The cleanup after party included free surf lessons, face painting, video games, fish tacos, an ocean themed photo booth, live music and vendor booths.
Trash artists created artwork from collected beach garbage. The trash art will be on display at Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants through World Oceans Day on June 8.
Trash artist Skyler Wefer said trash art is his medium of choice. Wefer worked on making a wave out of bottle caps. He said he would finish the piece with painted graphics.
Sea Changes artist Kira Corser created an octopus sculpture from a broken beach umbrella and bubble wrap. The interactive sculpture allowed event goers to add to the art piece. Sea Changes is a group of scientists and artists who work to raise environmental awareness.
Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill takes pride in recycling and using 85 percent sustainable seafood at its 196 restaurants.
“We’re very conscious,” Ralph Rubio, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill founder, said. “We’ve sold 170 million fish tacos in 30 years. We want to ensure there’s plenty more fish in the ocean. Sustainable fish affects everyone.”
Rubio said the beach cleanup and “Be a Friend to the Ocean” campaign the restaurant is sponsoring to lead up to World Oceans Day is just the company doing its part to help sustain our oceans.
