Napans are invited to roll up their sleeves and get down and dirty this weekend.

Saturday marks the seventh annual Creek to Bay Cleanup Day in Napa, which goes from 9 a.m. to noon. The public is encouraged to pitch in all three hours or for however long they can. It is in conjunction with the 24th annual statewide Coastal Cleanup Day.

During the past six years, volunteers have picked up 43,000 pounds of trash and 11,500 pounds of recyclables along the banks of Napa’s waterways, according to Stephanie Young, education coordinator, with the Napa County Resource Conservation District.

The most common items picked up are cigarette butts and plastic water bottles, according to Young. “And there are lots and lots of tires,” she said. Also pulled from Napa’s waterways have been part of a couch, washing machine, half a shower door, car parts, a yo-yo, portable toilet and a pair of high-heel shoes.

Young has no idea where the trash keeps coming from, but she expects the answer is littering and illegal dumping by people who don’t want to pay to dispose of items properly.

Volunteers have eight clean up sites to choose — six are along the Napa River and there one each on Napa Creek and Salvador Creek. There is one cleanup site each in American Canyon and Lake Berryessa.

The cleanup sites are typically those that historically have the most garbage. “Napa Creek tends to have the most trash in the downtown area,” said Young, adding that it is likely the result of homeless encampments and street trash ending up in the waterway.

The turn out of volunteers has dipped from a record 537 in 2006 when they collected 12,470 pounds of trash and 2,538 pounds of recyclables. Last year, there were only 419 people volunteered, collecting 8,674 pounds of trash and 3,854 pounds of recyclables.

Young said the goal this year is to get 500 to 600 people to join in for the cleanup day.

“The more people who turn out, the more garbage that gets picked up. I’m not sure why there has been a drop in participation,” Young said.

The is no age limitation, but children under 18 must have a liability waiver form signed by a parent or legal guardian. Individuals, groups and clubs are welcome to participate in the Creek to Bay Cleanup Day. Young can recommend sites that can be less physically demanding on volunteers.

“We seem to get a lot of parents with young kids. They (parents) want to teach kids that they should be stewards of the river and environment. And they want to teach them about volunteering by participating in a day like this,” Young said.

All volunteers will be provided with gloves, recycle bags and trash bags, snacks, refreshments. Reusable water bottles commemorating the Creek to Bay Cleanup Day will be given to the volunteers.

“It seemed ironic to be giving out plastic water bottles to the volunteers and then have them picking up the disposable ones all day long,” Young said.

In the spring on Earth Day, volunteers also pick up trash from local creeks and river. Earth Day this year about 200 volunteers picked up 8,000 pounds of trash and recyclables.

For more information, call Young at 252-4188 ext. 111 or go to www.naparcd.org