COUNTYWIDE : 6 Tons of Trash Collected at Beaches

The dirtiest beach in Ventura County on Saturday was Mobil Pier beach off the Old Rincon Highway.

Volunteers for the Seventh Annual Beach Cleanup picked up 1,068 pounds of rubbish and 158 pounds of recyclables at the site, said Kitty Dill, coordinator of the local cleanup.

In all, the 1,246 volunteers collected 12,748 pounds of rubbish and recyclables at 26 locations, from Leo Carillo State Beach just south of the Los Angeles County line to the Bates Road beach in Santa Barbara County, Dill said.

The cleanup, sponsored by the Ventura County Regional Sanitation District, is part of a statewide effort, she said.

The beaches were not nearly as dirty this year as last year, Dill said. Volunteers in 1990 bagged 40,214 pounds of trash, more than three times the amount picked up this year, she said.

She attributed the reduction mainly to poor weather.

“We’ve had such a dreary summer that it restrains crowds and the attendant trash that they bring,” Dill said.

In addition, curbside recycling programs established around the county this year have helped reduce the amount of recyclables left on the beaches, she said.

Of the trash collected on Saturday, 5,386 pounds was recyclable materials, such as newspapers and cans.

The remaining 7,362 pounds was rubbish.

The annual award for finding the most unusual article went to Newbury Park resident Sandi Warner, 29, who found the bottom half of a set of false teeth, Dill said.

Warner won an overnight trip to Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz Island, Dill said.