Shocking Pictures from Coastal Cleanup Day
I’ve seen this picture of Kamilo Beach on the Big Island of Hawaii a million times in the past six years. It’s shocking. But not as shocking as seeing a plastic-covered beach up close live and in person like I did yesterday during Kokua Hawai’i Foundation’s Coastal Cleanup Day event at James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge on the island of Oahu.
When I first entered the area, I didn’t see much…
Then I looked down and started noticing microplastic particles in the sand…
And then more microplastic. I started to become a little obsessed with it…
Until I looked up finally and was astounded to see this…
There were just a few new items of trash mixed in with this ancient debris, possibly left by a careless visitor to the preserve.
Most of this plastic had been out at sea a long time before washing up on this beach. It came from far away and has been slowly breaking down into fragments by wind, waves, sun. Some of it partially eaten by sharks. But it never actually goes away.
It was too much to comprehend, so I went back to concentrating on the little tiny pieces.
And even tinier pieces…
I worked with one of the kids to collect a sample to bring home.
Some people go to Hawaii and bring back shells. Here is my souvenir.
I’m grateful for the work of the Kokua Hawai’i Foundation, which was founded by musician Jack Johnson and his wife Kim to support environmental education in the schools and communities of Hawaii, including work on reducing plastic waste and plastic consumption.
Friday night, it was my privilege to give a talk during Kokua’s Coastal Cleanup Kick Off Event… In the same school my mom taught in in 1964 before I was born!
She loved this island and so do I. I hope I can continue to help reduce the damage from plastic pollution.
I watched Plastic Oceans on Netflix and was horrified. I did not know how serious and out of control plastic in our Oceans. The microbeads are the size of krill, we MUST stop this!
We pick up trash on our local San Diego beach 3-4 times a week during our power walks. First of all, it amazes me how many people walk by large pieces of trash without bending over to pick it up. Some days we have so much trash in our hands we can’t pick up another piece until we dump it in the trash cans, other days, not a single piece. The top 4 types of trash collected: plastic water bottle caps, plastic straws, pieces of cellophane packaging, plastic bags.
@CindyFrancine @DianeN56 @GroovyGrapevine @ItStartsWith_Me This plastic comes from out in the ocean and washes up on the shore. It’s not that there are so many people littering at that beach, but it’s accumulated from all the plastic that runs off land… from the U.S., Japan, etc.
Feel so sad and shocked and angered to see the photos. Its great that there are people beginning to take action though. Its great that you could be there and educate and inspire people. I know the feeling trying to pick up microplastics in the sand – it never ends.
On Oahu, it gets burned. And then there is toxic ash to deal with. But better than having it wash back into the ocean. Marcus Eriksen says, “If you want to clean the ocean, clean your beach.” Also, these beach cleanups are mostly about awareness for the volunteers who show up to do them. It’s important for them to see the problem for themselves.
I absolutely support your efforts well done , dont give up it is important work just keep fighting
I’ve always thought of filters being used to keep debris from getting into the natural water supply.
It’s proof of how bad things have become that now it would make sense to have filters to keep debris in the natural water supply (the ocean) from coming on to the beaches.
BTW – I happened across and excellent <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS28ZmWTOwc”>National Geographic video</a> about the huge landfill used for the LA area called Puente Hills. Everyone who throws anything in the trash (don’t we all?) should take a look.
Blessings on you Beth for educating us and cleaning up the plastic.. Oh how I wish I could be there helping. It’s so distressing to see this in the islands, or anywhere. Keep up the excellent work. You do make a huge difference.
Sadly, this kind of plastic has been washing up long before the tsunami.
I wonder how much of that is debris from the tsunami in Japan a few years ago? But I do agree. We need to get away from plastic. It is bad. Human kind lived hundreds of years without it and did just fine. Why do we have such a dependence on it now? This inspires me to do and be better.