When it rains in Los Angeles, stormwater isn’t the only thing that flows into the ocean. Tons of trash are also washed into the Pacific. But this year, at least, there’s a little bit less. The LA County Public Works Department reported Sunday that its Trash Interceptor in Ballona Creek caught 11.6 tons of plastic, garbage and debris over the weekend. 

Developed by Dutch charity The Ocean Cleanup, the Ballona Creek Trash Interceptor is an automated, solar-powered trash collector that captures pieces of plastic and trash that are floating on the water’s surface before they reach the ocean. It sits at the opening of Ballona Creek in Marina del Rey and works with moorings connected to its adjacent channel’s jetties.

In anticipation of the most recent storm, which has dumped 7 inches of rain in LA since last Wednesday, the county deployed a second trash boom on the interceptor last Wednesday. The trash interceptor was first deployed to Ballona Creek for a two-year pilot project last October.

CORRECTION: The Public Works Department incorrectly stated the amount of trash the interceptor collected, which was cited in an earlier version of this article. The error has been corrected. (Feb. 27, 2023)