Summary
The Tijuana River area uses a trash boom to stop waste from Mexico entering the U.S. The system has caught 500 tons of trash from October 2024 to June 2025. There are plans to add more systems to prevent pollution.
Key Facts
- A trash boom on the Tijuana River caught 20 tons of trash in one hour during a rainstorm.
- The system stopped about 500 tons of trash from October 2024 to June 2025.
- The California Water Quality Control Board funded the system.
- The system is managed by the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.
- Alter Terra, a nonprofit organization, developed the system.
- The booms are located around a quarter-mile from the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Debris collected is removed and taken to landfills in Chula Vista, National City, or Miramar.
- Plans are in place to expand the system and possibly install more across the border.
