Malibu’s shorelines drown in litter

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Vistors are welcomed with a Welcome to the Beach sign at Nicholas State Beach. Photo by Samantha Bravo/TMT.

Beach trash cleanup explained

If you think beaches in Malibu are a little more trashy than usual, you’re right. Two agencies that facilitate Malibu beaches say more beachgoers this summer equates to more trash and litter. The varying authority over non-contiguous beaches also creates a patchwork of shoreline to clean which adds to the workload of maintenance crews who must hopscotch the coast for access.

Lori Harrod, California State Parks acting Angeles District superintendent, said visitation is high this summer at Malibu beaches her agency services. State Park beaches include Pt. Dume, El Matador, El Pescador, La Piedra, Malibu Lagoon/Adamson House, and Topanga, plus Pt. Mugu State Beach/Thornhill Broome and Leo Carrillo, which include camping. State parks requires its maintenance crews to empty trash cans on all these beaches daily. 

“We have visitation daily and we have required service contracts with refuse trucks that haul it away twice a week,” said Harrod, who also noted that some of the smaller less-visited beaches may have trash hauled away only once a week even though cans are emptied daily. 

Harrod said her agency has not received any trash complaints this year. Any community wishing to organize a beach cleanup day is required to get a permit. Contact State Parks’ special events coordinator. Volunteer school groups can contact their interpretive education manager at Malibu.specialevents@parks.CA.gov

“It’s your park. Keep it clean,” Harrod added.

Los Angeles County Beaches and Harbors also confirmed a heavy load of trash on Malibu beaches this summer. “It’s because of the sheer number of people coming to the beach,” according to Nicole Mooradian, public information specialist for LA County Beaches and Harbors, which facilitates some of Malibu’s most popular beaches. Mooradian explained that her agency’s crews, working 5 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., check every trash bin at least once a day, emptying when necessary. Maintenance crews start daily from the north at Nicholas Canyon Beach and make their way down to Zuma, Pt. Dume and all county beaches southward including Dan Blocker, Surfrider, and Topanga. 

Accessways and parking lots are cleaned, too. As LACO beaches are not contiguous Mooradian said, “It’s hard because in Malibu with the easements and the mean high tide line it’s hard to get one continuous stretch of dry sand.”

At wide beaches such as Zuma, county crews can use heavy equipment to sweep debris above the wrack line early in the morning when attendance is low. Tractors use rakes and sanitizers. “Contrary to the name however, they don’t actually sanitize the sand,” Mooradian clarified explaining that the equipment acts like a giant sieve into six inches deep of sand. “Anything bigger than a dime is caught.”

In addition, LACO beach restrooms are cleaned a minimum of four times a day. “That just tells you how many people are using those restrooms,” Mooradian stated. Many portable restrooms are in use at Zuma currently where a restroom refurbishment is taking place. There have been complaints regarding restrooms at Zuma that Mooradian explained were due to septic problems, supply chain issues and a higher attendance rate than expected. 

Mooradian clarified if groups are planning a beach cleanup day, a permit is required. Organizations can go through Heal the Bay or Beaches and Harbors. General liability insurance is required but there are no permit fees.

The Malibu Times was alerted to heavy refuse on local beaches, including at Lechuza Beach, which is among many stretches of sand under the jurisdiction of The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA). The agency is often at odds with Malibu residents over beach access including its latest quarrel over beach access signage MRCA erected in Malibu. The city removed the signs on the basis that MRCA did not obtain permits for them.

The MRCA lists on its website at least 12 other beach locations in Malibu where it operates accessways to the coast, however, its website does not describe the agency’s responsibilities or activities it conducts on the beaches to which it maintains access. Malibu residents have for years complained that the MRCA is not a good land and beach steward, favoring access without minimum amenities for visitors such as restrooms and trash bins. The most recent complaints have included the new La Costa accessway and now a photo submitted to TMT showing a trash strewn Lechuza Beach.

TMT called the MRCA media inquiry line seeking explanation of its trash pickup policy, but has not received a reply to date.