GOVERNMENT

ENVIRONMENT

WATER QUALITY

Trash TMDL

trash in marina image

The Santa Monica Bay, which includes the Marina del Rey Harbor, has a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for nearshore and offshore debris. This regulation includes targets to reach both zero trash and zero plastic pellets entering the Bay by March 2020. Plastic pellets are the raw material transported to plastics manufacturing facilities to be melted into plastic products such as disposable forks and bottles. Discharges of debris into Santa Monica Bay violate water quality objectives, impair beneficial uses, and cause pollution and nuisance.

The majority of marine debris originates from trash that enters the storm drains. The primary sources include:

  • Commercial establishments and public venues
  • Industrial discharges
  • Garbage transportation
  • Landfills
  • Construction debris
  • Littering

To address the problem, the County has been implementing several best management practices to reduce trash flow to the Bay, including:

  • Ballona Creek Trash Interceptor, a fully automated, solar-powered trash collection device designed to capture floating plastic, trash and litter before they reach the ocean
  • Catch Basin installation with full-capture devices
  • Source Control by removing trash from County facilities in the Marina del Rey on a daily basis
  • Maintenance:
    • Street Sweeping
    • Catch Basin Cleaning
    • County Beaches Sanitation Program to rake trash off the beach. Please click here  to view a video from the 2016 Los Angeles County Annual Report of the workers responsible for keeping our beaches clean.
  • School Outreach to notify public and private K-12 schools within the Marina del Rey of the availability of environmental education programs offered by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District and City of Los Angeles
  • Clean Marinas Program, a partnership among private marina owners, government marina operators, and yacht clubs that was developed to provide clean facilities to the boating community. Click here to learn more about the County’s involvement with the Clean Marinas Program.
trash grate image
X
Skip to content