Trash Takers protect Hayward’s shoreline

This Saturday, The Shoreline Trash Takers are getting their gloves and garbage bags ready to collect trash that has accumulated along the Hayward shoreline and Breakwater Ave.

The Shoreline Trash Takers Program was founded in 2010 by former naturalist of the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center, Patrick Downs. Since Downs left in 2012, Naturalist Linden Rayton continued the tradition of getting a group of about 50 volunteers together four times a year to clean up the shoreline. According to Rayton four times a year is pretty sufficient.

“Thankfully, at this point in time, we don’t really accumulate enough trash to need a pick up more than four times a year,” said Rayton. “So about once a season when we get volunteers out there we’ll clean it up and it’ll look good for another two to three months, which is then about a perfect time to have another clean up.”

Rayton lead 47 volunteers along the shoreline to perform this community service this past spring and is expecting this fall’s turnout to be the same. The emphasis of this quarterly volunteer effort has changed a lot since Downs started it four years ago. Where Downs focus was primarily along the shoreline, Rayton focuses primarily along Breakwater Ave in Hayward.

“Most of our clean-up occurs along the road because that’s where most of the trash gets dumped and that by virtue of winds and rains will eventually make its way to this habitat,” Rayton said.

Program Director Adrienne De Ponte said The Trash Takers is one of few stewardship programs that volunteer to clean up the shoreline. The Weekend Weed Killers come out on the third Saturday of every month and the Coastal Clean Up Day happens on the third Saturday of every September.