At a city-sponsored meeting on litter abatement, attendees were asked to come up with a headline about litter they one day wished to see. Community activist Justin Rudd's headline read: "Monthly Beach Cleanup Canceled -- No trash." "That's my dream," he said.
For (eight+) years, Rudd has organized a monthly cleanup of the beach around Granada Avenue. The result has been thousands of bags of debris removed from the area and thousands of people mobilizing to help.
RUDD'S EFFORTS HAVE NOT GONE UNNOTICED.
Keep California Beautiful, a nonprofit, state-sanctioned environmental steward program, bestowed on Rudd its Hal Albertson Volunteer of the Year award for his efforts with 30-Minute Beach Cleanup.
"There are a lot of people who go out once or twice a year to clean up our beaches and that's great. I don't know what we would do without them," Keep California Beautiful Executive Director Marlene Mariani said. "But Justin has taken it the extra mile."
SOON AFTER RUDD moved to Long Beach from his home state of Alabama, he began noticing the sad state of the city's beaches and wanted to do something about it. A personal trainer who offered workouts on the beach, Rudd one day asked everyone to help him clean up.
"I told everyone, why don't we stay and clean up? We use this beach why don't we be good stewards?" Rudd recalled. "There were maybe 10 people. Then I said we should do this every month."
WANTING TO MAKE IT EASY for people to attend, Rudd decided to keep the cleanups short -- only a half an hour. He asked his friends to bring people they knew and put up fliers around town. He also asked the city to donate bags and gloves and give people free parking and businesses to donate refreshments.
"What works for us in this 30-minute beach cleanup is the partnerships that have come through," Rudd said. "Justin Rudd isn't the only one out there cleaning the beach. It's 100 people out there. Unless you have partnerships, it's not going to be successful."
Rudd is excited about the being named volunteer of the year, but is humble about it.
"It's truly an honor," he said. "California has got to be the most environmentally friendly state in the country and to be chosen for a statewide honor, that's pretty cool."
KEEP CALIFORNIA BEAUTIFUL aims to create a litter-free California by encouraging business, government and public partnerships in cleanups and other beautification efforts.
It was the administrators of Long Beach Beautiful, the city's Environmental Services Bureau, who nominated Rudd's 30-Minute Beach Cleanup for an award. Rather than recognizing the program, KCB decided to recognize its founder.
"We just thought what a great idea, a 30-minute beach cleanup, anyone can do that," Mariani said. "It's fantastic that he thought that up. It speaks to how committed he is."
She said KCB officials were so impressed by the lengths Rudd has gone to get people involved, such as a volunteer database with more than 2,440 e-mail addresses, which Rudd uses to send out notices, the program's web site, www.beach-
cleanup.org, and his extensive public relations campaign.
"It's just on and on and on. It's just truly amazing that someone would care that much to do that for the community," Mariani said. "Long Beach is very lucky to have him."
RUDD WILL THE FIRST KCB volunteer of the year recipient under the award's new name. Mariani said Hal Albertson had organized highway and
roadway cleanup in Placer County for nearly 20 years. He passed away in late 2004.
"In recognition of him and all he did, we thought it would be nice to name the volunteer of the year award after him," Mariani said, adding that the
selection of Rudd this year was apropos. "It seems that Justin Rudd was cut out of the same mold as Hal. It's nice to see a young man really committed to cleaning up his neighborhood."
For more information, visit www.keepcalifornia-
beautiful.com
g TAX-DEDUCTIBLE GIFT
Please Support Beach Cleanups in Long Beach
RIGHT NOW, while the need is in your mind, won't you please donate?
WE HOPE YOU share our love for animals, kids and the environment, and our wish is that you'll consider a gift of $25, $50, $100 or another amount so that we can continue to bring you clean and safe beaches.
CHECKS to BEACH CLEANUP, Attn. Justin Rudd, 5209 E. The Toledo #1, Long Beach, CA 90803.
THE MAIN PURPOSE of the Community Action Team (CAT) is to promote social well-being among the general public. As a 501c3 nonprofit corporation governed by a board of directors, contributions to CAT are tax deductible and are used to help produce quality events within our community that benefit children, animals, and the environment.
Justin Rudd's nonprofit 501c3 C.A.T. IS AN UMBRELLAorganization that includes: 4Halloween Kids' Costume Contest
4July 4 Kids' Bike Parade
4Haute Dog Poetry Contest
4Interfaith Blessing of the Animals
4$1,000 SoCal Spelling Bee Championship
4Nat'l Adult Spelling Bee
4Belmont Shore Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest 4Haute Dogs on the Beach events
4Haute Dog Easter Parade
4Haute Dog Howl'oween Parade
4Operation Easter Basket
4Operation Santa Paws
45k/10k Grunion Run
45k/10k Long Beach Turkey Trot
4monthly 30-Minute Beach Cleanups
4Beds, Bikes, Bears & Blankets giveaway to those in need 4Clothing giveaways to the underserved 4Bulldog Beauty Contest 4"Long Beach Losers" 12-week weight-loss contest
I AM A FIRM believer in the collective power of individuals joined in a spirit of goodwill and generous giving to bring about the success of a community. - Justin Rudd!
g Justin's Free e-Newsletters 4 DOG e-News Weekly; Long Beach/LA/OC area dog news & events; 10, 800+ subscribers; subscribe 4 JUST-IN TIMES e-News Weekly; Long Beach/LA/OC area gay & lesbian news & events; 2,780+ subscribers; subscribe 4 BEACH CLEANUP e-News monthly reminders for the Long Beach 30-Minute Beach Cleanup at Dog Zone; 2,440+ subscribers; subscribe
NEXT 30-MINUTE BEACH CLEANUP: SAT., May 17, 10 A.M.,
1 Granada Ave., Belmont Shore in Long Beach, 90803.Be sure to show up and be signed-in by 9:50 a.m.MAP
Thanks to our May 17 product sponsors for their coupons for all volunteers:
- Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Belmont Shore
- Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt, Long Beach Martketplace
Free parking (when you enter the lot at 1 Granada Ave. after 9:30 a.m.). Free bags, gloves, refreshments, door prizes and volunteer credit forms, too!
NEW We do provide bags, but we encourage folks to bring their own recycled bags - like a plastic grocery sack.
KEEPING LONG BEACH BEAUTIFUL
Monthly Beach Cleanups Need Volunteers gVolunteer this month?
Happy 100th! ON SAT., SEPT. 15, 2007, Justin Rudd and the30-Minute Beach Cleanup volunteers celebrated their 100th consecutive monthly beach cleanup -- which Justin began June 1999! Thanks volunteers.
JUST SHOW UP You are welcome to show up by yourself or with your group. Average attendance each month is 150 participants and all ages are well represented.
STUDENT VOLUNTEER forms are available upon request at the conclusion of each cleanup. These forms can be returned to your school officials to help satisfy required volunteer service hour credits.
REFRESHMENTS Provided each month by Duthie Power Services, JetBlue Airways, others. Refreshments may include bottled waters, canned sodas, chips, cookies, candies, snack bars, etc.
Volunteers are asked to wear shoes and sunscreen. We will meetRAIN OR SHINE.
DOOR PRIZES May include tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific, items from JetBlue, and more!
OTHER LONG BEACH-AREA CLEANUPS gLong Beach Marine Institute, various dates at Mother's Beach and Marine Stadium gAlamitos Beach Cleanup, 2nd Sat. of the month, 10 a.m. Contact cleanalamitosbeach@gmail.com gSeal Beach Beach Cleanup: Fourth Sat. each month, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Meet at the First St. Beach Parking Lot, corner of 1st St. and Ocean Ave. www.saveourbeach.org. (562) 884-6764 gCalif. Coastal Cleanup Day, Sat., Sept. 20, 9 a.m. to noon.
g e-NEWSLETTER Free Beach Cleanup Reminders by e-Mail GET REMINDEDabout upcoming beach cleanups in the Greater Long Beach area. Justin Rudd will send you a reminder just before each monthly 30-Minute Beach Cleanup.CLICK HERE to subscribe. More than 2,740 subscribers!
g TAKE ACTION NOW E-mailCity Officials About Beach Trash LET YOUR VOICEbe heard now. CLICK HEREto e-mail Long Beach officials about your beach concerns that might include the amount of trash on our beaches. Also, write letters to the editor. Keep the issue alive in the media by using this easy, free channel to educate the community!
PLEASE HELP Volunteer This Month g Groups and Individuals Needed
VOLUNTEERS of all ages have been combing the sands for debris for many months and there is still lots of trash to be removed. The debris fouls the sands and endangers aquatic wildlife," says Justin Rudd, grassroots founder/organizer of the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup. "We are looking for families, students, individuals and organizations to come out and support the effort to help make Long Beach's beaches clean and beautiful."
The Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is instrumental in helping with the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup each month. Surfrider sends a volunteer or two each month to assist with the cleanup and to distribute pamphlets about environmental projects.
Messy Problem in Long Beach LONG BEACH HAS a perpetual problem with debris on its beach. The Los Angeles River empties near downtown in a curving pattern so that junk washed downstream tends to collect inside the breakwater and drift back up on shore. At the south end of town is the San Gabriel River, which probably carries less trash but what trash there is also gets pushed back to shore by south swells slipping past the breakwater. After a storm, the beaches collect literally tons of debris. It takes bulldozers and dump trucks to pile it up and haul it away. The city is faithful at cleanup but patience is wearing thin, and officials have studied more than a few proposals to stem the flow of flotsam and jetsam from the messy metropolis upstream. --Los Angeles Times
International Coastal Cleanup, based in Washington, has organized annual worldwide beach cleanups since 1986; this year's was on Sept. 18. Its volunteers work in teams, with one logging each type of trash. On its 2003 "entangling debris" list, balloon strings and ribbons accounted for 8 percent of the animals strangled. That is far behind fishing line and nets, which accounted for 60 percent, but at least fishing equipment has an excuse for being in the ocean and is not released just for fun.
By contrast, balloons are not a problem in Long Beach, Calif., said Justin Rudd, who directs monthly volunteer cleanups of four miles of beach there. That is not surprising, since the prevailing winds are from the west. "Styrofoam is the big culprit," Mr. Rudd said, along with fast-food packaging and plastic water bottles. The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers end in Long Beach, and his problem is gutter runoff from 87 towns upstream. "Right after a rainstorm, it's gross around here," he said. ---NY Times
FOUNDED IN JUNE, 1999
A Grassroots Effort g Who's Behind this Environmental Initiative?
JUSTIN RUDD, a 38-year-old Belmont Shore resident, is the grassroots organizer of the monthly 30-Minute Beach Cleanup. "The beach should be a place to go to experience Mother Nature's beauty, not LA's trash," says Rudd, who moved to Long Beach in 1997. Since the inception of the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup in June 1999, Rudd has organized more than 12,000 participants who have collected thousands of bags of debris, including glass, Styrofoam, various packaging materials and thousands of cigarette butts.
RUDD IS the recipient of Keep California Beautiful's 2004 "Environmental Volunteer of the Year" award. He has also been honored by the City of Long Beach; the Long Beach City Council; Surfrider Foundation; Long Beach Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Marine; the California Junior Chamber of Commerce; and twice by The Aquarium of the Pacific for his leadership with the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup. "I want the sand to be clean and safe, and getting our city's people involved will make it happen," says Rudd.
Solutions to Our Dirty Problem g Reasons for this cleanup's continued success
Long Beach will be a community of neighborhoods focused on youth and education, with safety and economic opportunity for all, and a responsive, accountable government, in a healthy, green environment. ---Long Beach Strategic Plan 2010
Long Beach is California’s fifth largest city and one of the leading regions for business, tourism and community in the west. Because it is a shoreline city, Long Beach also has a perpetual problem – debris on its beaches.
NEAR DOWNTOWN, the Los Angeles River empties trash generated by upstream communities, which collects inside the breakwater and then drifts on shore. The San Gabriel River empties on the south end of the City, carrying trash that also drifts on shore. Rainstorms exacerbate this problem, sometimes dumping tons of debris on Long Beach beaches.
The Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine Department is responsible for maintaining a clean and healthy shoreline. The Department provides daily litter and debris abatement (mechanized sand raking) for each of the City’s beaches. This sand raking is effective in removing large items of debris, but smaller items and pieces of trash (e.g. beverage containers, plastic cups and bottle caps, plastic and paper bags, cigarette butts) remain.
Since 1999, the City of Long Beach has been the beneficiary of an extraordinary grassroots effort to educate and enable residents to become environmental stewards of its beaches. Justin Rudd, a Belmont Shore resident and grassroots organizer, is the driving force behind this successful environmental initiative.
In June 1999, Justin created the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup. To date, he has organized more than 90 beach cleanups, and coordinated more than 12,000 volunteers who have collected thousands of bags of debris, including glass, plastic, Styrofoam, packaging materials and countless cigarette butts.
Volunteers of all ages (individuals, families, students and organizations) have participated in the beach cleanups -- a dedicated and remarkable effort to help make the City’s beaches clean, beautiful and safe for residents, visitors, and marine animals, too! After five successful years, the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup stands as a role model for community involvement and improvement.
Execution of Program
Beach cleanups are scheduled for the third Saturday of every month (rain or shine), after major holidays, and after large rainstorms. Outreach and promotion for the cleanups are conducted through the following:
Web site postings on www.beachcleanup.org Monthly Beach Cleanup e-Newsletter (more than 2,440 subscribers) Monthly print ads in the local Gazette newspapers
Volunteers are provided with bags, gloves, and free parking passes (all donated by the City of Long Beach ). Every month, refreshments are provided by Duthie Power Services, JetBlue, and other corporate sponsors, and door prizes are donated by Long Beach businesses, including the Aquarium of the Pacific and MasterFoods.
Integral elements that contribute to the success of the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup:
Consistent scheduling of cleanups (Third Saturday of every month, 10 a.m.) Consistent location (1 Granada Ave.) Consistent message (Keep our beaches safe and clean) Consistent offering of incentives for volunteers (T-shirts, prizes, email follow-up, e-Newsletter)Consistent networking with Long Beach Unified School District; local community, service and church organizations; local businesses; local media
Informative, fun and brief (30 minute) cleanups
Justin Rudd is a very accomplished grassroots organizer. He has created a community-based program that provides a much-needed service (beach cleanups and fostering environmental stewardship for the City’s residents). He has built and maintained solid partnerships with the City of Long Beach (City Council and City departments), local businesses, the Long Beach Unified School District, local colleges and universities, and local environmental, community service and church organizations.
Budget, Impact and Community Involvement
The 30-Minute Beach Cleanup is a “no cost” program. All personnel are volunteers (including Justin Rudd ), and all volunteer supplies (bags and gloves) are provided free-of-charge by the City of Long Beach, JetBlue and other sponsors. All volunteer incentives (T-shirts, refreshments and door prizes) are donated by local businesses, and the City of Long Beach provides free parking passes for all volunteers.
Print ad space in the community newspapers is donated (Gazette newspapers providing public service announcements). Print and web graphic design and web design of www.beachcleanup.org are provided free of charge by Marc Posch Design (in exchange for personal fitness training sessions provided by Justin Rudd ).
OUR PARTNERS 4City of Long Beach 4Duthie Power Services 4Long Beach Unified School District 4Aquarium of the Pacific 4Gazette Newspapers 4Vons Food Markets 4Wild Oats 4Sweet Jill's 4Jamba Juice 4The Surfrider Foundation 4The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf 4Century 21 4Lion's Club 4Starbucks 4Long Beach Jaycees 4JetBlue Airways 4MasterFoods 4Tom's of Maine 4CatalystLB.com
Results and Sustainability Well-established and respected in Long Beach , the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup is reliable (rain or shine) and effective. Since its inception, the program has provided more than 12,000 volunteers an opportunity to accomplish the following: Become environmental stewards
Improve the safety, health and beauty of Long Beach beaches
Protect the health and safety of marine life on and off Long Beach shores
Justin Rudd is a firm believer in the collective power of concerned and aware individuals. His commitment and tireless efforts have created an important complement to the City’s maintenance of its beaches. As all California cities are grappling with the challenges of budget shortfalls, the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup offers a unique community improvement model that can be developed and sustained with minimal financial impact.
Next on the horizon for the 30-Minute Beach Cleanup? A campaign partnering with regional organizations to create awareness of inland watershed issues and the importance of stopping litter before it gets into the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers.
Long Beach is California’s fifth largest city and one of the leading regions for business, tourism and community in the west. Because it is a shoreline city, Long Beach also has a perpetual problem – debris on its beaches. 