The City of Goleta Environmental Services Division would like to highlight existing and upcoming programs to help avoid litter and trash pollution. Trash is an issue in watersheds since trash can make its way through the storm drain system, into creeks, and eventually into the ocean. It’s also bad for wildlife and it’s unsightly! The City of Goleta is committed to reducing trash in our communities and preventing trash from entering our creeks and the ocean. Here are some City programs as well as some ways that you can get involved and be a part of the solution.

Upcoming Community Events and Programs

• California Coastal Clean-up Day: The 37th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is set for Saturday, September 18, 2021, from 9am-Noon, at beaches and waterways throughout the state. Help us remove the trash and plastic pollution! To learn more and sign-up, visit Explore Ecology.
• Santa Barbara Creek Week: Celebrate the 22^nd Annual Creek Week, September 18-25^th, 2021. Creek Week is an annual celebration of our creeks, watersheds, and the ocean, with many local organizations hosting events to help build awareness and stewardship of the natural treasures of Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Carpinteria. Learn more about this event here.
• Community Based Volunteer Programs: There are community-based volunteer programs through local organizations and partners at the Environmental Defense Center, Explore Ecology, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, Santa Barbara Urban Creeks Council, Heal the Ocean Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara County. These organizations work with volunteers to clean up our creeks, ocean, and other spaces. If you know of other community cleanup programs, we would love to hear more about them! Please contact the Environmental Services Division at environmentalservices@cityofgoleta.org
  • If you are interested in getting involved in community cleanups, please contact us!
• Full Trash Capture: The City of Goleta will be installing full trash capture systems or their equivalent in all of our storm drains to prevent trash from entering waterways. Stay tuned for more; updates will be provided in our Green Room posts, as well as our stormwater web page here.

Current City of Goleta Programs

• Beautify Goleta: While this program was on hold during the pandemic, it will resume soon, new and improved! Beautify Goleta provides dumpster and collection services to neighborhoods on a rotating schedule, to help residents properly dispose of bulky items.
• Illegal Dumping: contact our Environmental Services Division to report illegal dumping on public right of way (pickups occur twice a month). Report illegal dumping to environmentalservices@cityofgoleta.org.
• Free Bulky Items Collection: We partner with MarBorg to offer two FREE bulky item collections annually. All you need to do is call them to schedule a pick-up (805-963-1852). You can place bulky items curbside on the scheduled day, and they will be removed.
• Recycling Programs: We have many recycling services available to residents for battery collection, medicine and sharps collection, styrofoam, and of course including Unlimited Recyclables Collection and Unlimited Green Waste Collection at no additional charge. Learn more here.
• Shopping Carts: Report abandoned shopping carts to CAR-TRAC 888-992-4778.
• Homeless Strategic Plan: This plan will provide sanitary services to houseless community members as well as inspection and cleanup programs for abandoned items. View our Homeless Strategic Plan to learn about the sensitive issues related to homelessness, and how we as a City plan to address them.
• Street Sweeping: This program is integral to keeping our streets clean and free of trash and debris. Street sweeping helps remove waste from the gutter and roadsides that would otherwise go into storm drains, causing water pollution.
• Mutt Mitt Program: Pet waste is one of the largest sources of water pollution. The City of Goleta’s Mutt Mitt Pet Waste Program works to address the issue of bacteria in streams from pet waste. City staff maintains 24 mutt mitt stations located at City maintained parks and open spaces, and along bike paths and walking trails.
• Parks and Open Space Cleanups: City of Goleta staff regularly encounter sources of pollution in our open spaces and around local creeks whether during regular creek cleanups or reported by local citizens, and staff work to remove these sources of pollution from our creeks immediately.

For more information on these programs as well as upcoming programs such as full trash capture and community-based cleanup events, visit our Environmental Services website.

Pictured: Beautify Goleta event in 2016