About 200 volunteers came together on Sunday morning at 54th and Chollas Parkway to clean up Chollas Creek. The group, ASEZ, or Save the World from A to Z, is an international student volunteer group affiliated with the World Mission Society Church of God.
"We're cleaning this area so that we can prevent this trash and debris from making its way into our oceans; which you know with San Diego being a coastal community, we want to keep our beaches and our waterways clean," said Patrice Smith, one of the volunteers with ASEZ.
ASEZ partnered with the City of San Diego to identify Chollas Creek as an area in need of cleaning. Chollas Creek was an area that was hit particularly hard in the wake of the historic flooding in January of 2024. The resulting flooding caused debris to accumulate in several areas up and down the creek.
"Chollas Creek is a special area for the city, it's actually a highly visible area so because of the wildfires, there's been a lot of brush removal, now we're doing a cleanup removal," said Smith.
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ASEZ's mission is to eliminate all plastic by the year 2040. The goal is in line with a report from the United Nations (UN) in May of 2023, which outlined a roadmap that called on all countries to reduce plastic pollution by 80% by 2040.
"A lot of the trash actually makes its way down the river through the waterways and into the ocean," said Smith.
The City of San Diego said at least 3 tons of trash was collected on Sunday. ASEZ will hold an environmental forum on Sunday, February 23 at UC San Diego as part of their campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution.
