September 16th celebrates the coming together of individuals within different communities to help clean and take care of our shared resources along the coasts here in the US. Coastal clean-up day focuses on the importance of preserving the coastal habitats for the organisms that inhabit and enjoy it. Pollution is a big issue and is a major contributor to the decline in the overall health of oceans and coastal habitats. Plastic and other trash not only causes the beaches to look unappealing to beachgoers, but these items are also a direct hazard to the animals that live in the water and frequent the beach. Items such as rope, plastic bottles, and tires are extremely harmful to the ocean habitat. Rope has been known to get wrapped around animals while they are swimming and can damage their limbs. Plastic bottles and other plastic items cannot be easily broken down, so these items end up either floating around or sinking into the ocean. When they do break down, plastics start spreading into the ocean and impacting the chemistry of the water which severely impacts the habitat and organisms living within the ocean. The plastics that don’t break down can become food for organisms or can injure ocean organisms. To help prevent these impacts, it’s important to remember that anything that is brought to the beach should be taken with you or disposed of properly.
By participating in your community’s Coastal clean-up day, you are preventing the spread of pollution into the ocean, protecting ocean organisms, and preserving the integrity and beauty of the beach and coastal ecosystems for future generations. To find more about local events occurring in your area, check out the link below.
Trash Free Seas: Find a Cleanup with Ocean Conservancy’s Interactive Map
Ways YOU can reduce plastics in the oceans.
- Single-use plastics
- Single-use plastics are plastic items that are only used once and then discarded. Such items include water bottles, plastic utensils, cleaning sprays, plastic bags, and more. Easy ways to reduce your plastic consumption include utilizing reusable water bottles and reusable bags in your daily life. Looking for alternatives is not always easy but look for ways to either replace one-use items (razors where you replace the head, cleaning supplies the allow refills) or ways to reuse them.
- Education
- Education regarding recycling and proper disposal is vital because recycling is not always as easy as throwing a plastic container into the recycle bin. Not all counties or states are able to recycle the same items. Education on local issues and laws in your local area helps you also get involved with your community.
- Microbeads
- Microbeads are found often in face scrubs, hand soaps, toothpaste and body washes. These tiny beads of plastic are a growing source of ocean pollution. These items are ingested by ocean organisms which are often eaten by humans. The next time you are looking for cosmetic products, check the label and look for environmentally friendly alternatives.