Plastic confetti, cigarette butts and discarded vape cartridges are among the items environmental advocates say continue to threaten Santa Barbara's beaches, prompting renewed calls for visitors to celebrate responsibly and pack out their trash.
The reminder comes after volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation collected more than 130 pounds of litter during a cleanup at East Beach in June.
Bill Hickman, Surfrider Foundation's senior regional manager for Central California, said one of the more concerning discoveries after recent celebrations has been plastic confetti.
"Plastic confetti is really concerning because it's not going to biodegrade," Hickman said. "Marine life and birds can mistake it for food, and it can harm their digestive systems, so we need to celebrate responsibly and avoid bringing plastic confetti and things like this to the beach."
While cigarette butts remain the most commonly collected item during beach cleanups, Hickman said volunteers are seeing a growing number of discarded vape cartridges.
"We've seen a small decrease in cigarette butts, which is great. They're the number one item still, but we've seen a dramatic rise in vape cartridges, both nicotine and THC," he said.
According to Surfrider's 2026 cleanup data, volunteers have removed more than 66,000 pounds of trash during 366 cleanups nationwide this year. They have collected more than 238,000 pieces of litter, including 56,413 cigarette butts and 286 vape cartridges.
Cigarette butts remain the organization's most commonly collected item, while vape cartridges add plastic, batteries and other potentially harmful materials to the environment.
Some Santa Barbara residents say they have noticed changes along the shoreline.
"The whole beach has changed," said resident Valaniya Hill. "The sand is different. There is trash everywhere and a lot of dead animals."
Hill said everyone has a role in protecting the coastline.
"Hopefully they'll clean it up because we need our beaches. We love them," she said. "There's got to be a way. If you bring trash, take it out."
