Volunteers scrubbed four stretches of Santa Monica State Beach and dove beneath the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, Sept. 19, as part of a countywide cleanup that pulled 24,758 pounds of trash from more than 60 sites across Los Angeles County.

Heal the Bay, the environmental nonprofit headquartered at the pier, organized the effort for the 42nd annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. The group's final wrap-up tallied 5,827 volunteers at locations stretching from mountain trails to urban waterways to the shoreline.

The Santa Monica stretch drew several organized teams. Sites included Bay Street near the Ink Well, led by Alpha Kappa Alpha and Santa Monica College, and Ocean Park Boulevard, led by Santa Monica High School's Team Marine and IKAR. Heal the Bay led the site on the north side of the pier, and La Cañada Engineering Club led the Tower 12 site.

Divers from Eco Dive Center, Heal the Bay and LA County Beaches & Harbors also conducted an underwater cleanup beneath the pier, according to Patch, which previewed the event.

Caltrans District 7 said on X that its crew joined the Heal the Bay site at Santa Monica State Beach and collected 362 pounds of litter alongside hundreds of community volunteers.

@CaltransDist7: "Caltrans District 7 joined the @healthebay site at Santa Monica State Beach along with hundreds of community volunteers. 362 lbs of litter collected!"

The cleanup came weeks after Hurricane Marie reshaped Santa Monica's shoreline. The Category 2 Eastern Pacific storm never made landfall. But a long-period south swell combined with elevated Labor Day tides to strip sand from the beach south of the pier, pushing the high-tide line 96 feet inland, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.

Nancy Shrodes, Heal the Bay's director of community engagement, told Patch on Sept. 18 that the storm damage had not disrupted planning. "The storms actually just give us an opportunity to get a lot more of that trash before we have more storms that would bring them out further," Shrodes said.

The countywide totals mark an increase in pounds collected compared with 2025, when 6,722 volunteers removed 19,139 pounds of trash and 610 pounds of recycling from 70 sites. This year's effort drew fewer volunteers and covered fewer sites but pulled out roughly 5,000 more pounds of debris.

Heal the Bay's Bring Back the Beach Gala is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica.