The Romancing the Creek volunteer cleanup event on Feb. 10 pulled more than 2,500 pounds of trash, mostly plastic, and close to 20 shopping carts from the creek, according to organizer Edward Stancil.
That’s quite a haul considering a group had come out to clean up the same area near the Peninsula Yacht Club just four months ago, Stancil told Redwood City’s council on Monday.
Over 150 volunteers who participated included local community members, along with a group of East Bay youth from Kaiser Permanente.
Stancil and other Docktown residents have for years organized clean up efforts that they say pull about 6,000 to 8,000 pounds of plastics annually. On one day, 38 shopping carts were pulled from creek areas, organizers say.
Redwood Creek is buried underground in downtown Redwood City, having been paved over in the 1920s. While out of sight, the creek picks up a lot of debris that runs off into the Bay. Volunteer events for the last 18 years have involved participation from local businesses, police, the city’s public works and others.
The above photo, taken from last year’s Romancing the Creek event, was posted in the event’s Facebook page.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated the amount of trash collected during this event. The story has been adjusted to reflect the correct amount.
