Clean air. Clean water. Clear skies. Trash-free seas. Isn’t it obvious that we need to stop polluting the land and sea? That we should try to jive with nature instead of demolish it? Even after all these years, I am shocked anew every time I see someone toss a piece of trash out the window of their moving car.  Who exactly do they think is going to pick it up for them?

But no one wins friends by scolding – I’m not here to tsk tsk anyone for throwing their cigarette butts on the ground. (Seriously, people? You’re throwing your cigarette butts on the ground? What do you think happens? They magically evaporate into glittery sundrops of goodness? It’s litter!) What I am doing is inviting you out for Saturday’s International Coastal Cleanup day. Ocean Conservancy coordinates the annual event – people across the globe join in, picking up trash off their beaches and providing data about what they find. This information provides a greater understanding of the problem of ocean trash and what must be done to solve it. Our local leaders can be found at the Northcoast Environmental Center, where the Coastal Cleanup has been part of the NEC since 1978.

If you’ve spent any time at the beach, anywhere, you know that seeing garbage is not a surprise. I never return over the Manila sand dunes without some chunk of litter in my hand. A friend of mine traveled to Thailand earlier this year and loved it – except for when she found herself swimming through trash in an otherwise beautiful sea. Over the past 25 years, more than eight and a half million volunteers have removed 145 million pounds of trash from nearly 300,000 miles of coastline and waterways in 152 countries and locations.

That’s a lot.

The good news is, this problem is preventable! And keeping trash out of the ocean is one of the best ways to help it be healthy. Why is a healthy ocean important? Because oceans cover 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and act as a life-support system for the planet. If intrinsic value isn’t enough for you, remember, we are dependent on the ocean for our survival. (It’s also an economic driver of near-immeasurable proportions!)

For Ocean Conservancy, this means working through the Trash Free Seas Alliance with businesses, trade associations, scientific institutions, community groups, nonprofit organizations and others to reduce the amount of waste entering the environment and eliminate all trash from our oceans. On a individual level, the classic “reduce, reuse and recycle” still applies – emphasis on the first two! Make less trash. Recycle what you can. Make sure the trash you can’t avoid ends up in the proper place. (Which is not the ocean.) Come on out to the beach on Saturday. Check in at the NEC for more info.

Trash facts:

  • Over 25 years, Cleanup volunteers have picked up enough glass and plastic bottles to provide every resident of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston a cold beverage on a hot summer day.
  • 53 million cigarettes/cigarette filters that have been found would fill 100 Olympic-size swimming pools.
  • Appliances collected over 25 years of Cleanups (117,356) would fill 32,600 single-axle dump trucks.
  • Over 863 thousand (863,135) diapers would be enough to put one on every child born in the UK last year.
  • Volunteers have collected enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons over 25 years to host a picnic for 2 million people.
  • Over the past 25 years, more than eight and a half million (8,763,377) volunteers have removed one hundred and forty-five million (144,606,491) pounds of trash from nearly three hundred thousand (291,514) miles of coastline and waterways in 152 countries and locations.