Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - Cleaning up during the 36th year for International Coastal Cleanup Day
On Saturday, September 18, 2021, we teamed up with Parrot Lounge, Sun of A Beach Cleanup, Surfrider, and Trashy Girls Collective. It was a hot day, but I was eager to help out on our first beach cleanup. I was impressed that the beach was surprisingly clean. More than half of the trash we found was cigarette butts. Did you know cigarettes make up more than one-third of all collected trash? Not only is cigarette waste toxic but it is also made out of plastic fibers. People might think since cigarettes are small, they have no impact on the environment. That is where they are wrong. According to Truth Initiative, it states, “Littered cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals into the environment and can contaminate water. The toxic exposure can poison fish, as well as animals who eat cigarette butts.” Beach pollution does not only affect marine life, but it also has an impact on public health. “Polluted beaches can cause serious health risks for people who come in contact with dirty water or sand,” stated the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). That is why we must come together and help out in our local beach cleanups. I feel that thanks to the organizations we teamed up with, our beautiful beaches are being kept in great condition. We should not put our guard down and continue to help out.
To learn more about beach pollution, click on the links below:
~Sam
September 18, 2021
This past Saturday Sam and I participated in International Coastal Cleanup day. International Coastal Cleanup day is the third Saturday of September that encourages people around America to rid the beaches, oceans, and waterways of the waste polluting them. It was 90 degrees outside and the only motivation I had was making the world a better place piece by piece. I may not be able to save the world but I can do my best to make it a better place, alongside my peers.One of the many things I found to be picking up a lot was plastic straws, bags, and cups. Single use plastic is very harmful to our environment and should not be brought to beaches, let alone used solely for the fact that it's convenient. Beaches all over south florida including Coral Gables, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Hallandale Beach, and more have banned plastic straws and Hollywood Beach has even banned the use of all single use plastic. Paper straws may not be ideal but they are exponentially better for our environment. Plastic impacts marine life in the coastal communities by causing marine animals to suffocate, ingest, and become tangled in the plastics. Plastic takes thousands of years to break down resulting in fish and wildlife to become intoxicated. The toxins from the plastic also harm humans by entering our food chain, threatening human health. Next time you purchase plastic make sure to properly recycle and keep it away from the beach. You too can help out in your community with things as small as bringing your own reusable bag to a grocery store, or participating in a beach cleanup like we did.
~Reese
September 18, 2021
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