On the first Saturday morning of every month, orange and white trash bags are scattered across the beach as volunteers gather to pick up litter for Onepiece At A Time.
At a cleanup on Feb. 5, 175 volunteers huddled under a blue pop-up tent at the end of Termino Avenue at 9 a.m.
Founder of Onepiece At A Time Laurel Terreri said she believes people need to take time out of their busy schedules to help the environment, hence her slogan: “If everyone picks up one piece of trash every day, the earth would be litter-free.”
Terreri has lived in Long Beach since 2004. She said her master’s program required her to do a project that has heart and meaning, so she attended cleanups and learned how they were organized and developed. As a result, nearly two years ago, Terreri started Onepiece At A Time.
On a normal cleanup day, Terreri gathers 60 to 100 volunteers of all ages. Gloves and trash bags are provided as well as cardboard layouts that offer advice on how to be more environmentally friendly by using paper bags instead of plastic and reusable water bottles instead of plastic.
The volunteers do more than pick up trash, even salvaging found objects and reusing them.
At the volunteer cleanup, Kim Masoner, founder of Save Our Beach, shared her technique on how to crochet dry cleaning bags and turn them into a bedroll for the homeless.
“The coolest thing that we ever found was found by kids from an elementary school: a barbecue and a set of snorkeling equipment that had been left behind,” Terreri said.
Volunteers did not have to roam far to find litter, including Styrofoam — a problem on the beach because it is not biodegradable.
Terreri said small things like changing from Styrofoam containers to Tupperware is an important change that would improve the environment.
Shannon Anderson, a junior at Cal State Long Beach, did her first beach cleanup Feb. 5.
The Alpha Phi sorority at CSULB also attended.
“Living by the beach has given me the drive to take action and make a difference by improving the environment around me,” Anderson said.
The majority of volunteers filled a large portion of their trash bags within three hours.
Terreri said she believes any amount of time spent doing a cleanup helps, whether a volunteer stays for 20 minutes or 3 hours.
“It just matters that you are doing something,” Terreri said.
Terreri added that one of the biggest misconceptions about trash found on the beaches is that the majority of trash comes from people littering on the beach, but it actually comes from inland and riverbeds. There are machines that comb the beach for trash, but smaller items are left behind, and then get washed into the ocean with the tide.
“I do think Long Beach has dirtier beaches than other beaches because of the breakwater,” Terreri said.
Terreri said her desire to be a volunteer began when she noticed walking through large amounts of trash on the beach and throughout the community. She recalled a moment when she was conducting a beach cleanup and saw a man put his cigarette butt on the ground.
“Excuse me would you mind putting your cigarette butt in the trash can?” Terreri asked. He threw his cigarette butt away.
Terreri said her interaction with passionate volunteers keeps her going. She also said she is committed to her adopted beach, which she adopted through the Adopt a Beach program.
Onepiece At A Time will conduct 10 more beach cleanups this year. The next one will be held March 5 from 9 a.m. to noon at 90 S. Termino Ave.
Another group, Justin Rudd’s 30-Minute Beach Cleanup, is located at 1 S. Granada Ave. every third Saturday of each month at 10 a.m.
The next cleanup will be on Feb. 19.
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