lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min.
7.5 pounds
994.2 pounds total
I collected only two cigarette butts during last night's twenty minute cleanup. Across the country in North Carolina, my friend Danielle went out for the same amount of time on her local beach and collected 218. A local pro-surfer came out with them and collected 158. This is the starkest contrast to date. Cigarette smoking is banned on Santa Monica's beaches, and not in North Carolina.
Walking back to the car, I knew the bag felt heavy. More to the point, it was heavy with flimsy plastic food wrappers and other plastic film. These items weigh very little by themselves. The sunset made a sharp contrast to the seven and a half pounds I collected in twenty minutes from a beach where I'm regularly in the water. Sometimes this beach cleanup project weighs me down.
It is my pleasure to pass on the good news that the CA Supreme Court upheld LA's Plastic Bag Ban! Read this post from Surfrider to learn more.
