Debris Cleanup Along Beaches Continuing

Unless El Nino decides to wreak more havoc on Ventura’s beaches this spring, its shoreline should be clean of storm debris by the end of April, Ventura parks manager Mike Montoya said.

So far, 1,000 tons of driftwood that washed down the Ventura River during this year’s storms have been hauled off the city’s beaches, from Surfers Point to Ventura Harbor.

Another 1,000 tons remain and should be gone by month’s end, said Eddie Rangel, an environmental contractor hired by the city, which is coordinating its cleanup efforts with San Buenaventura State Beach.

“It’s mostly driftwood, lots of bamboo, plus we found two live rattlesnakes,” Rangel said.

An employee of California Wood Recycling in Ventura, where the debris is being taken for recycling, said the driftwood has “plenty of rocks too.”

The recycling firm is sorting out the rocks, grinding up the wood and stockpiling it for mulch, some of which goes back to the city of Ventura for reuse.

The city is also hoping for a big volunteer turnout at Ventura Pier at 1 p.m. Saturday to finish off the cleanup in honor of Earth Day.

“Once the bulldozers have left, we need people to do the fine cleanup, like raking and just picking up litter,” said Beth Caputo, who runs the city’s Adopt a Beach program.

Gloves and sturdy shoes are required: rakes will be provided, she said.

All these efforts are Montoya’s idea of true recycling.

“We’ve already had two weekends where we allowed the public to bring four-wheel-drive vehicles onto the beach to take driftwood away,” he said. “We had people wanting it for firewood, artists wanting it as material. I think we’re in the forefront of this type of effort. One hundred percent of the debris is going to be reused as mulch.”

Michael Henderson, Oxnard parks superintendent, said his city will be burning its washed-up debris on the beach.

“We’re working with the Ventura County Fire Department and the APCD [Air Pollution Control District],” Henderson said. “The material that has washed up is just so difficult to recycle because of all the other things in it, like old lawn chairs.”