Reflection from the Sea
This past Saturday, Nick and I volunteered at Canaveral National Seashore for Public Lands Day. The volunteer event was a beach clean up. They gave us each a garbage bag and a checklist to record data on the litter, and off we went to the beach to pick up trash.
It was a beautiful morning at the seashore, we were there early enough to see the sun rising and the waves rolling in were making their gorgeous sounds. We walked down the shore picking up trash along the way. It was a great experience, and I was happy to spend Public Lands Day volunteering in my community. However, I was stunned at how much trash there was to pick up. All down the coast in and above the seaweed "wrack line" there was trash everywhere, coating the sand. We found flip flops, glass bottles (but no messages), a light bulb, a tooth brush, styrofoam bits, candy wrappers, plastic zipper bags, you name it! What we found the most of was just little chunks of plastic pieces that have eroded over time from being in the ocean for a while. After that, the next most frequently found items were plastic bottle caps and straws. Seeing so much litter was saddening, especially in a place as beautiful and important as the ocean. So now I am inspired to share tips on how to use less plastic, by far the material we found the most of.
1.) Use reusable cloth bags at the grocery store. Keep your stash of bags in the kitchen or car and make yourself a sticky note to bring them in to the store to save a ton of plastic. Additionally, you can refuse a bag if it is easy to carry your item/items. Also, there are movements in many cities, such as San Francisco and Chicago, encouraging legislation of plastic bag bans or taxes. Support movements like these by speaking with your local government officials and help make a more widespread impact on plastic use reduction.
2.) Buy in bulk and refill existing containers. Not only does buying in bulk quantities save money, it saves a lot of plastic packaging. Many groceries, such as Whole Foods, have bulk sections that allow you to fill up bags or containers with however much of an item you want. Usually it's grains, nuts, spices, and candies that are available in bulk. There are also stores that sell exclusively in bulk. In Central Florida, we have Bulk Nation that has a huge variety of goods that can be bought in bulk like cereal, soup mix, coffee, pasta, all kinds of things. They even allow you to brink in your own reusable containers to fill up again and again! Check your local stores for your bulk options.
3.) Do not use straws at restaurants. Straws are one of the top items found on beaches around the country, but they are also one of the easiest to remove from your lifestyle. Simply let your waiter know you don't need one. If you really like to use a straw, reusable stainless steel straws are easy to find now.
4.) Use reusable bottles, not single use disposable bottles. Plastic disposable water bottles are a huge source of plastic waste in the U.S. Using a reusable water bottle will save so much plastic from ending up in a landfill or the ocean. If you are worried about water quality, bottles with built in filters are popular. Additionally, you can use reusable cups at places like Starbucks or convenience store soda fountains.
5.) Use reusable containers for food storage. Instead of zipper bags and plastic wrap, use reusable plastic, or even better, glass containers.
6.) Use cloth diapers. Disposable diapers use a massive amount of plastic to manufacture just to stack up in a landfill after one use. Reusable cloth diapers provide a significant cost reduction and plastic reduction. They can be used over and over, and with most brands it is not necessary to keep buying a bigger size as the baby grows; they are adjustable. There is a little extra cleaning involved with them, but the cost savings and environmental benefits are huge. The use of cloth diapers in the U.S. is growing and many cities even have laundry services for them.
The common theme with all of these tips is reusablity is good. Identify the products in your life that you find you throw away a lot and try to find a way reuse the item, or find a more sustainable alternative.
Plastic waste in the ocean is a huge and well known issue, I'm sure you've heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, but people are slow to act on it. The ocean is not only home to incredibly diverse plants and animals, but it sustains our human population by being the source of 50-70% of our oxygen, and reduces carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. The ocean supports a tremendous abundance of life and is full of potential for scientific discovery and future technologies, but overfishing and waste is rapidly declining the health of the ocean, which will certainly decline the health of us. We need to work as a team to keep our beautiful planet healthy, and following these simple tips is a great start, especially if you spread the knowledge with your family and friends.
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