International Coastal Cleanup Review

I just wanted to post a little review of our International Coastal Cleanup event at Lake Worth Beach last month, because I felt there were some things that definitely deserved mention:

In case you weren't aware, Keep Palm Beach County Beautiful sponsors cleanups all over the PBC coast for the Ocean Conservancy's annual data collection of trash throughout the world. It is always interesting to see the data cards with the most common and most unusual items. This year we were actually the second group to come clean Lake Worth Beach within the month, because another group had booked the spot two weeks before. We knew there would still be trash because it washes up everyday, so no big deal. The most interesting thing though, was that because most of the large items were already cleared, our volunteers had their eyes pealed for smaller things like, plastic and foam pieces and cigarette butts and were amazed by the sheer numbers!

When I averaged the things on the data cards, I was thoroughly disgusted to find that there were over 1,200 cigarette butts uncovered and disposed of by our group! We only had 3 industrial sized, black garbage bags, but they were filled with so many small items that we don't usually even notice when we are laying in the sand right next to them. It was a real eye-opener for me and I hope it sheds some light on how bad the problem really is. The small, insignificant items that we don't notice are starting to become a much bigger problem as they turn into tiny pieces that are eaten by fish and then in turn by us! Ewww! Please help by reminding yourselves, your friends, and your family to throw away even the smallest wrapper, and especially cigarette butts to keep them out of the bellies of our marine life and birds. We also found several dirty diapers… not sure why people didn't want those to be in the garbage immediately, but I hope it is not a new trend!

Thanks so much for all of the awesome volunteers that came out that day and for our amazing business sponsor, Fayette Bikinis! Danielle Harangody is an amazing designer and garment maker who took time out of her Saturday to provide all of our food and refreshments at the event. We are so grateful for her generosity and hope that you take the time to check out her beautiful work on her website!

For an awesome documentary about the impact of plastic on our lives, check out "Addicted to Plastic."