Organizations team up with homeless volunteers to remove trash from the Santa Ynez Riverbed

Andrew Velikanje and the group he created have removed around 700,000 pounds of trash from the Central Coast in the past six years. “Most of that is ocean-bound waterways, too,” Velikanje told the Sun. “It’s amazing to think how much trash that would look like if it was above ground, … how big it looks underwater.” Collective cleanups To learn more about Heal the Ocean’s and Earthcomb’s missions and ongoing projects throughout the Central Coast, visit healtheocean.org and earthcomb.org. For him and the small team at Earthcomb, every day that they increase the total number is a good day. In October, the organization removed nearly 37,000 pounds of trash and hazardous materials from Lompoc’s Santa Ynez Riverbed thanks to financial support from Heal the Ocean. Some of the help came from two unhoused individuals. Velikanje was homeless from 2017 to 2020, he said, and he remembered being embarrassed after moving into an encampment on a beach that was littered with trash.

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