The 24th annual California Coastal Cleanup has drawn more than 12,000 volunteers. The action, which is sponsored by environmental group Heal the Bay, intends to clean the trash amassed on the beaches, but also raise awareness about dumping garbage in natural areas.

In its 24 years of cleaning, the California Coastal Cleanup became a worldwide event and is currently drawing thousands of volunteers each year.

"We had a very strong turnout in the South Bay. We had nearly 800 people come out in Torrance, compared with 200 last year," said Heal the Bay's Matthew King.

This year, the most interesting item found on the county shores was a cleaning machine. The list of items dumped by careless people included iPods, a Razor Scooter, a plastic bag filled with chicken parts and a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The items most frequently found by cleaning volunteers were cigarette butts and pieces of foam cups. More than 5000 cigarette butts were picked off in Echo Park.

The exact turnout for this year’s event was of 12,262, higher than last year. The volunteers also collected way much more garbage than last year. As much as 181,000 pounds of trash were collected from the county beaches and other natural areas.

"We're being more aggressive" King said. "Our education efforts are paying dividends."

From Tujunga to Long Beach, Compton to Malibu, the volunteers gathered the trash.