39th annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup collects 2,500 pounds of trash

AVALON—On Feb. 22, a record 609 divers and volunteers banded together to cleanup the water under and around Avalon Harbor in an annual tradition. USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies said cleanup divers, along with the aid of volunteers, and support from the Avalon Harbor Department, L.A. County Baywatch, and Avalon Environmental Services, removed an astonishing 2,500 pounds of trash during the annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup. Of the trash collected, 850 pounds were recyclable metal.

Awards were given for the most interesting trash finds, which included an intact blazer jacket, mounted navigational light, unopened bottle of German beer, push broom, pepper grinder with peppercorns ready to grind, shrunken alien head, nunchucks and Gucci sunglasses.

USC Wrigley Ambassadors also joined the effort on ‘Plastics Patrol’ to collect plastic samples from the marine debris, to study the microbes that naturally grow on and maybe also digest ocean plastics. The sample collection is part of research to develop cleaner coastal communities.