With the warm weather, more people are crowding our coastline to enjoy the weekend, but there is an ugly side to all the fun. The weekend parties meant there was a huge pile of trash along the bay Sunday morning.
“I’ve been here 33 years I’ve never seen it like this. No respect. Trash was everywhere. barbecues. I found lounge chairs. A barbeque still in the box,” said Kevin Foster, a San Diego resident.
Foster went to Ski Beach in Mission Bay to celebrate Father’s Day, but instead of just setting up his barbecue and having a good time, Foster and his family had to clean up other people's garbage.
“We’re called America’s finest city. Not today,” Foster said.
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From food to plastic cups, to alcohol containers, all types of trash were left at the park.
By 9 a.m. there was only one park ranger cleaning the Ski Beach area. The disgusting scene motivated volunteers to help clean up.
“People got to care. That’s pretty much how it is. People who came here yesterday didn’t expect to come back again,” said Chris Sales, a Los Angeles resident who brings his family to Mission Bay often.
Sales' family was among those picking up. It was the last thing any of the volunteers were expecting to do on a Sunday.
“On Father's Day we had 18 bags of trash” said Foster.
“I’m trying to figure out what to do right now, I might have to go somewhere else,” Sales said.
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By the end of the morning, volunteers made great progress. Foster had some simple fatherly advice to keep our beaches and bays clean.
“If you’re gonna be out here, clean up your mess,” Foster said.
