Covid-19 forces Operation Clean Sweep to be “socially distant”

Port of San Diego and San Diego Port Tenants Association hosts cleanup as a virtual event.

SAN DIEGO—Volunteers virtually participated in this year’s Operation Clean Sweep, which was forced to be a virtual cleanup due to Covid-19. Operation Clean Sweep is held each year and organized by the San Diego Port Tenants Association and the Port of San Diego.

This year’s cleanup event was the 30th annual Operation Clean Sweep; the event was held on Aug. 29, from 8-10 a.m.

Those participating in this year’s cleanup were asked to pick up trash on their own, in a community of their choosing. Volunteers could have picked up trash along San Diego Bay or anywhere else in the county.

Members of the San Diego Port Tenants Association organized trash pick-ups at their respective places of business. The locations where member tenants collected trash were General Dynamics NASSCO, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego Navy and Outboard Boating Club.

A statement issued to The Log from the San Diego Port Tenants Association about Operation Clean Sweep stated no unique items were collected. The association was, nonetheless, “happy with the tenants who decided to socially distance cleanup their community.”

Operation Clean Sweep was coordinated as a full-scale, non-socially-distance event in 2019, several months before the Covid-19 pandemic prevented most public gatherings from taking place. The event in 2018 drew 1,225 volunteers who hauled almost 47,000 pounds of trash from 18 locations on San Diego Bay. A sampling of unique trash items found during the 2018 event included a rug, toilet, Milwaukee banner, Gucci bag and mermaid statue.

Anyone who participated in previous cleanups and had a T-shirt from those events were encouraged to wear them this year.

Each participant was asked to do the following at or before the event: invite a family member to help; bring bags; bring gloves; bring sunscreen; separate recyclables; select any area to collect trash; and, wear an Operation Clean Sweep T-shirt (and take pictures).

Sponsors of Operation Clean Sweep include the San Diego Port Tenants Association, Port of San Diego, U.S. Coast Guard and San Diego Gas & Electric, among others.

One thought on “Covid-19 forces Operation Clean Sweep to be “socially distant”

  • October 3, 2020 at 8:08 am
    Permalink

    It used to be that the most common litter found scattered about was the disposable baby diaper.
    Now, I predict that this will be replaced by the face mask.

    Reply

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