Pack In Pack Out Beach Trash Reduction Program

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The “Pack In, Pack Out” beach trash reduction program aims to reduce the significant accumulation of trash littering the Los Angeles County beaches, which was observed starting May 2020 when beaches reopened to the public after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. With beach maintenance crews reassigned to clean and sanitize 52 beach restroom facilities as often as six times per day—more than twice the usual rate—due to COVID-19, the Department of Beaches and Harbors had fewer resources to address the accumulation of trash generated by beachgoers. Because uncontained garbage on the beach can potentially harm human and marine life, this program asks visitors to “pack in, pack out,” which means taking back home everything they brought to the beach with them—including their trash. The program involves signs placed at beach parking lot entrances, parking pay machines, and accessways; offering branded trash bags to visitors; and a strategic communications plan. To date, 45,750 trash bags have been distributed to beach visitors, and there’s been a 16% decrease in the average pounds of trash collected per beach visitor between the summer months of 2019 and 2020 despite a 22% increase in number of visitors over the same period.