Volunteers Clean La Jolla Shores

San Diego summers bring tourists – and their trash – to the beach. With August nearly halfway over, La Jolla beaches have been littered with garbage. Items left unattended could be swept into the ocean, threatening local wildlife.

In order to prevent local beach pollution, Jerome’s sponsored a two-hour beach clean up through I Love a Clean San Diego at La Jolla Shores Saturday morning.

The locally based company had more than 50 people and employees volunteer by scooping up trash along the mile-long coastline.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Jerome’s Director of Marketing Jim Navarra said. “This is one of the ways we can give back.”

Navarra made this event a family affair by bringing along his wife and brother who also work for Jerome’s. The family donned rubber gloves and scoured the area for garbage.

“I’ve never been happier picking up trash,” Mark Navarra, Jerome’s director of supply chain, said.

By 9 a.m. the beach was already packed, but volunteers continued to navigate the crowds and scoop up unwanted items.

“Lots of people like to use the beach, but not a lot like to clean it up,” Mark Navarra said. “But it’s important to preserve this area.”

Families and employees came from as far as Escondido and Eastlake to participate. Jessica Andrews brought her two children to help with the cause. CJ, 6, and his 3-year-old sister Tessa enthusiastically looked for debris to pick up with metal reaching tools.

“We’re making it better so people can enjoy the beach,” Andrews said.

At the end of the event, nearly 100 pounds of trash was collected from the beach, grassy areas and parking lot. In addition, the group collected 10 pounds of recyclable material. Larger trash items mostly consisted of clothing left by beachgoers. Cigarette butts and wrappers were the most common items found. One of the most unusual trash discoveries was a plastic soldier figurine found buried in the sand.

Event organizers awarded volunteers with raffle prizes, which included tickets to Padres games and the Del Mar races.

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