Bottles and car parts marred the breathtaking view from Round Top Drive two weeks ago when Victor Llamas dropped by with his family, who was visiting from Mexico.

"They loved the view, but they couldn’t understand why there’s a lot of garbage," said the Nanakuli resident. "This is a beautiful paradise. There’s no reason why there should be a lot of garbage."

On Saturday, Llamas joined dozens of other volunteers in sprucing up the scenic lookout with views of Manoa Valley and Diamond Head.

They removed more than 2,300 pounds of rubbish along a stretch of roadway about 100 yards long. The trash included tires, car batteries, a computer, rebar, a bowling ball, a shopping cart and liquor bottles.

808 Cleanups, a volunteer group, organized the event, one of about 30 the group has done.

Michael Loftin, who co-founded the group, said he wants to curb the growing amount of graffiti and trash that he finds with friends on hikes and during other outdoor activities.

"We definitely noticed it has gotten worse in the last couple of years," he said. "Before we could ignore it, but now it’s just gotten so bad."

Since forming last summer, the group has grown to more than 1,000 members and has cleaned parts of Lanikai pillboxes trail, Alan Davis Beach in East Oahu, and Mauna Lahilahi in Wai­anae.

Loftin, 33, said the organization helps people who want to keep a site clean by allowing community members to adopt a site. So far, about 40 sites have been adopted.

"We’re actually the support network," he said. "Just having that camaraderie inspires people that were maybe feeling that it was hopeless."

Bolstered by the community’s response, Loftin quit his job as a solar panel installer to work full time for the group, which is working to obtain nonprofit status.

In about three hours, volunteers bagged the trash and cut back invasive haole koa and night-blooming cereus below the lookout wall.

"This is one of the most beautiful lookouts in the world and it’s like that," said Leo Malagon, referring to the rubbish that was bagged and piled on the roadside before it was picked up. "It’s really sad."

Malagon is president of Discover Hawaii Tours, which provided transportation and lunch for volunteers, and was one of several other businesses or groups that assisted in the event.

Mike McFarlane, a member of the Tantalus Community Association, said trash has littered the lookout for years and that the government cannot keep it clean without the public’s help.

"This is all our place," he said.

The state and city supported the efforts, with the state issuing a permit for the work and the city providing a dump truck to haul away the trash.

Makakilo residents Brian and Patricia Burns brought their two children to volunteer after seeing the rubbish during a visit.

"We saw the mess that it is up there and it’s such a beautiful spot," Patricia Burns said. "It just doesn’t deserve what it gets from the community."

Brian Burns said he wanted to teach his children — 6-year-old Colin and 5-year-old Valentina — about preserving the environment.

His wife added: "If they never do something like this again, they’ll think twice before they throw something on the floor or out the window of the car."