Stantec report offers solutions for trash mitigation along Seal Beach in California
January 20, 2026
Orange County Register spotlights Seal Beach’s push to team up on innovative projects aimed at stopping trash from washing down the San Gabriel River
The area between Long Beach and Seal Beach in California has long been a trouble spot as pollution from urban inland cities flows down the river and onto the beach and into the ocean.
A report from Stantec’s Environmental Services team—in partnership with The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that specializes in finding ocean trash solutions—finds the amount of trash at the shore has been trending upward in recent years. In 2021, an estimated 330 tons were reported, and by 2024 that number grew to 461 tons of trash to be removed.
The report identified several locations that could benefit from the adoption of various technologies, each ranked based on feasibility. Ideas included installing screens at inlets to prevent trash from flowing, floating booms to corral trash, trash wheels, and trash interceptor technologies.
Seal Beach city officials have taken a key step to finding a solution, voting to move forward with a memorandum of understanding with Los Angeles County to tackle the trash troubles.