Today the dirtiest day of the year

Photo: Connor Radnovich

In today's SF Chronicle:

Backyard barbecues abound and downtown fireworks celebrations draw crowds. But Independence Day, more than any other holiday in California, is all about going to the beach. As an environmental activist with the Surfrider Foundation, this delights me; I believe in not only protecting the world’s ocean, waves and beaches, but also in making sure people can enjoy them. 

The Fourth of July offers people from all over California the time to make the most of a long summer day. Survey San Francisco’s Ocean Beach on July 4 and you’re likely to see a wide range of people from across the Bay Area, unified by the joy that a day at the beach can bring.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for that pretty picture to inevitably degrade into a far less pleasant one.

While the Fourth of July brings people together for fun and celebration, the “Fifth of July” is more often than not the dirtiest beach day of the year across California and the country. The dramatic holiday influx of beach visitors leave behind a huge amount of trash.

This is notable because plenty of litter accumulates on a regular day.

In 2021, 1,259 volunteers with Surfrider Foundation’s San Francisco chapter cleaned up more than 3,872 pounds of garbage off the city’s beaches....

Rob's comment:

And July 4th is the noisiest day of the year. In my neighborhood, it sounded like some pretty heavy ordinance was exploding last night. Fortunately, the infantile perpetrators had mercy on the rest of us---and the area's animals---and mostly stopped the barrage after midnight.