Our Daily Ocean: Day 255

Recently, I've been hearing that there's an increase in cigarette litter at Wrightsville Beach and was even interviewed by Lumina News about the topic.  I went to the beach with the sole purpose of seeing the increase with my own eyes.

 But that didn't happen because on this beautiful warm fall day, I only found 3 littered cigarettes. :)  

Thursday, October 29, 2015 @ 11:06am
Access 25-29
Time: 20 minutes
Weather: 79˚ & sunny (falling tide: high tide @ 9:12 AM)
Cigarette butts: 3 (fresh)

Our Daily Ocean: Day 189

The beach is a gateway to the ocean... and while large items such as plastic bottles, buckets, cups and such are easy to spot... the tiny plastic fragments, the clear wrappers, the shredded straws, and things like hair clips go completely unnoticed.  That is until we really open our eyes and start looking... and keep looking... 

What seems like such a long time ago now, my friend Bonnie of The Plastic Ocean Project said:

"...the problem with plastics in our marine environment goes unnoticed because most of it is underwater or broken down into small bits floating on the surface. Not that it takes a trained eye to see it; you just have to recognize that it’s there. Once you do, it likens to the "Magic Eyes" from the 90s. Remember staring at a random series of blotches until an image imbedded in the blotches could be recognized? Once your eyes discovered it, you could always see it. And you wondered why you hadn't noticed at first glance."

Her words have stuck with me throughout all of my beach cleanups.  A reminder of the importance to let my eyes focus on the variations in the sand... to pay attention to the details.

20 minutes on June 11, 2013 at Access 28

Litter by weight: 2 lbs
Cigarette butts: 20

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 189 days:

55,119

Our Daily Ocean: Day 180

Well... it's been another long stretch between clean ups... again.  On some level, I used to feel guilty for not doing a beach cleanup at least once a week.  But as I'm committed to doing 365 non-consecutive beach cleanups at Wrightsville Beach... I know that sometimes long stretches between cleanups are going to happen... and it's ok.

I also know that sometimes I need a little motivation to get me back on the beach.  And there's no better motivation than sharing what I do with others.  On Monday, Beth Terry of My Plastic-Free Life joined me at the south end of Wrightsville Beach for a 20 minute beach clean up before our Living Plastic-Free Presentation at UNCW!  

Beth is a fantastic example of what one person can do to be a positive force for change.  She's living a life with less a lot less plastic to show what is possible.... and I'm continually inspired by her. Let me get this out there: I love Beth because she leads by example, is super encouraging and never judges.  Yup, she's my plastic-free hero that helps motivate me to do more!

During our 20 minutes, Beth and I stepped on sand spurs, picked up mostly plastics and chatted with the WB Park Ranger.  We got to talking about Kehoe Beach (in Northern California) and the amount of plastics that wash in makes it impossible to truly "clean" the beach. If you're unfamiliar with Kehoe Beach, it's worth watching this video:

Anytime I am reminded of beaches where plastics are washing in from other places... I am also reminded that Wrightsville Beach is not suffering that same fate (yet).  What we find at Wrightsville Beach is local.  What's great about that is that WE can fix that locally.  Two things I do to help are: change my personal shopping habits and beach cleanups.

Remember: 

Solutions to global problems start at the local level.  

20 minutes on March 11, 2013 at Access 43

Litter by weight: 10.7 oz
Cigarette butts: 180

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 180 days:

54,595

Our Daily Ocean: Day 173

Saturday was an especially amazing and fun day at Wrightsville Beach.  There were wispy cirrus clouds painted across the bluest of blue skies and the air was crisp and cool.  As my two boys and I walked south along the beach, they took advantage of the winter beach erosion and spent their time climbing up and jumping off the sand "cliffs"... nature's playground.

And while my boys played, another one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring natural phenomenons was taking place-- sundogs.  The first time I saw a sundog, I called it a fragment of a rainbow.  Over the years, I have viewed these little fragments as a metaphor for life: a reminder that rainbows are always there... we just have to be in the right place to see them.

On Saturday, I saw sundogs everywhere... I even saw a nearly complete halo of color circling the sun... And after I finished my beach clean up, I sat down on a park bench, let my head fall back and the sky smiled at me.... begging me to ask the question: What does it mean???  

To which I can only answer:  

We live in a great big beautiful world.... and it's worth protecting.

20 minutes on January 5, 2013 at Access 18

Litter by weight: 6 oz
Cigarette butts: 116

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 173 days:

53,842 

Our Daily Ocean: Day 165

For as long as I've been doing these 20 minute beach clean ups, I have often been asked when I would stop.  At first my response was, "hmm... I don't know... haven't even thought about it.  Well, at least until this whole cigarette litter problem is under control."  Then it changed to "when Sara-- The Daily Ocean-- finishes her 365 day goal."  Both are nearing.

With Sara and me doing comparative beach clean ups, the differences we find in the amount of cigarette litter on a non-smoking beach vs. a smoking beach continually blows my mind.  When updating mine and Sara's comparisons, I noticed that in 84 clean ups in Santa Monica... Sara has picked up 565 cigarette butts.  On Wednesday, I (alone) picked up 582 cigarette butts in 20 minutes.  In one 20 minute beach clean up, I picked up more cigarette butts than Sara has picked up in 84! (insane)  

If you're a registered voter at Wrightsville Beach... 

YOU have the POWER to CHANGE this!  Smoke-free beach ordinances help to majorly reduce cigarette litter!!  

Tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell your family.. get out and VOTE FOR the referendum!  

So with the WB vote and knowing Sara will complete her goal of 365 non-consecutive beach clean ups by the end of 2012... I have been thinking a lot about how long I should continue documenting, collecting and weighing litter picked up in 20 minutes at Wrightsville Beach.  To be honest the past few months, I've felt this ball of energy in me... what to do? what to do?   

I've never really had an end plan... I started this because I was inspired... I was moved to do something... to take action.  Everything just flowed... as it should when something is so right.  But what I've realized is that this ball of energy within me, is about moving forward.  As Wrightsville Beach residents will vote on a referendum to (hopefully) make WB smoke-free and as Sara is 18 beach clean ups away from her goal... I know that I'm not ready to stop.

So here is my official announcement!!  From this point forward, I have an end plan.  Inspired by the dedication and commitment of Sara, I'm going all the way.  (Happy Belated Birthday Sara!!!)  365 non-consecutive beach clean ups here I come!  

165 down... 200 to go!!!  

20 minutes on October 24, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 11 oz

Cigarette butts: 582

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 165 days:

52,337

Our Daily Ocean: Day 160

Well, another semi-long stretch between beach clean ups had me so happy to be back at Wrightsville Beach on Wednesday.  The weather couldn't have been nicer... the blues of the ocean and the sounds of the beach welcomed me back... and ushered in many reminders to me why I love where I live SO very much.

As usual, a lot has been happening.  Just last week, I was in California... on the west coast friend tour!  While we were there, my husband and I did a 20 minute The Daily Ocean beach clean up in Santa Monica with Sara, Garen and Mark!  I love beach clean ups with friends.  

Check it out! Day 339: October 4, 2012

Oh, and I also love that during the clean up with Sara and friends, I only found 9 cigarette butts in 20 minutes.  This November, Wrightsville Beach registered voters have the opportunity to vote FOR making Wrightsville Beach a cleaner more family friendly beach.  It's a step to cleaning up the air and the sand at WB!!  

P.S... for an update on the cigarette litter comparison that Sara and I are doing... glance over to the sidebar to see the HUGE difference between our two beaches.

News! The Daily Ocean & It Starts With Me (that's Sara and me) are in the October issue of DIVE Magazine!  Get a FREE digital copy here :)

20 minutes on October 10, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 1 lb 1 oz

Cigarette butts: 127

Straws: 4

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 160 days:

50,966

Our Daily Ocean: Day 159

When I stepped onto the beach on Wednesday, I immediately questioned my decision to do a beach clean up at 3:30 in the afternoon.  One thing that I haven't always been comfortable with is doing solo beach cleanups when there are lots of people at the beach.  Having to walk around and in between groups makes me feel awkward... undoubtedly someone will notice what I'm doing... watchful eyes... it's like having an audience.

Of course, I was committed to doing the beach clean up... and pressed on through my uncomfortableness.  About half way through my 20 minutes, I was making my way around a large group when I heard a voice: "How many cigarette butts have you picked up?"  I was about 6 feet away, so I stepped closer and said "a lot" and asked how he knew that's what I was doing (??).

His response:  Because that's what's here to pick up.

I ended up having a nice conversation with them about the cigarette litter problem at Wrightsville Beach... and I even learned that they had signed the petition for Smoke-Free Wrightsville Beach!! {{SMILE}}  What the heck was I so nervous about?!?  (lesson relearned)

20 minutes on September 26 at Access 19

Litter by weight: 9.5 oz
Cigarette butts: 236

Total amount of cigarettes removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 159 days:

50,839

 

Our Daily Ocean: Day 157

This past Saturday was Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup day!  If you're unfamiliar with ICC, it's the worlds largest volunteer effort for ocean health.   With our locally scheduled event being a couple of weeks away, I decided to do my own cleanup at Wrightsville Beach.

When it comes to ICC, one of the main things that happens is that EVERYTHING is counted and tallied.  Volunteers tallying trash from the shores of lakes, rivers, streams and the ocean has the ability to show us the BIG picture of the major trash problems found all over the world.    

One thing that I always try to reiterate here is that Wrightsville Beach is a beautiful beach and the litter problems here are not just a Wrightsville Beach problem.  With every beach clean up we do at our local beach, it only paints a small picture to what is a global problem.  But, here's the thing that is important to remember about the "small local" picture:  Solutions to global problems start at the local level.  If we want to begin to change a global problem, we first have to start locally.

And when we start locally, we first have to look at ourselves and our own personal habits.  Take a look at the TOP TEN ITEMS FOUND chart (above).  When I first started doing beach cleanups, I asked myself:  "What things do I use on this list?  How can I begin to help change this?"  

Repeat after me.

Change starts with me... 

I am part of the solution... 

I am the difference.

20 minutes on September 15, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 6.7 oz
Cigarette butts: 131

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 157 days:

50,260

Our Daily Ocean: Day 145

News Flash! Today was a record breaking day!  With a high temperature of 103˚F,  June 30, 2012 has broken the old daily record of 100˚F from way back in 1959!  (Umm... just to give you a base as to how HOT it was here compared to our "normal"... the average is 89!!)  Hot temps mean LOTS and LOTS of people heading to the beach to cool off in the ocean and enjoy the nice ocean breezes.... and that means lots and lots more litter.

Speaking of records... it reminds me to tell you that my friend Sara who writes The Daily Ocean reached a major milestone just the other day!  She did her 300th beach clean up!!  WOWZA!  To think that I met Sara on her 130th clean up, makes me SO happy and proud of her for not giving up on her goal!  365 non-consecutive beach clean ups is a goal not many would take on... but she did and she's so close to seeing this through!!  With 65 clean ups to go, Sara will complete her goal this year!  AWESOMENESS :)

So, if you haven't been following what Sara has been doing...  I encourage you to start now.  Get inspired.  Go check out her blog: The Daily Ocean.  "Like" her facebook page and follow her on twitter @thedailyocean  :)(And, of course, if you feel so inclined be sure to thank her for making such a big difference in our world.) 

20 minutes on June 30, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 4 lbs 11.5oz 
Cigarette butts: 305
Straws: 15

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 145 days: 

47,339

Our Daily Ocean: Day 144

For the past couple of weeks, I have had a hard time getting to the beach.  My schedule has been jam packed, so I've been slacking on beach clean ups.  BUT... good news: I think (emphasis on think) my schedule is going to be pretty mellow for the next month!  Since I haven't been out to the beach much, I've been relying on reading the WB Keep It Clean blog to find out the scoop on how the beach is looking (litter-wise) this summer.  Up until recently, the news has been that there is less litter this year.  BUT... that's all starting to change.

When I walked up to Access 16, the first thing that I noticed was the sign "This is litter too" was moved  directly to a main entry point at the access!!  I'm so happy about the sign being moved because the visibility is SO much better... and the receptacle on the pole is a really great idea!  I was seriously so excited about this simple move, that I immediately began thinking that I was definitely going to find a very low amount of cigarette butts on the beach... but as I walked just behind the sign, I started finding littered cigarette butts.  (such a bummer)

But, the signage move and new receptacle is a step in the right direction.  It's part of the effort to help eliminate the number one littered item on Wrightsville Beach.  On June 7, my family and I attended the WB special meeting where the Board of Alderman had one of two choices to make.  They could either: Vote the smoke-free beach ordinance into effect OR vote to put the ordinance on the November ballot.  Either way, the board was voting to move forward with the proposed smoke-free beach ordinance and it was very exciting to be there!  .... AND... if you haven't yet heard... the board voted to put the "Smoke-Free Beach Ordinance" on the November ballot!

I wonder how many cigarette butts will be added to our growing tally by then??  Hmmm....

"The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind." ~Maya Angelou

20 minutes on June 25, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 2 lbs 13 oz

Cigarette butts: 410

Straws: 21

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 144 days: 

47,034

Our Daily Ocean: Day 142

It isn't every May that a tropical weather system comes rolling into town.  But, today Tropical Depression Beryl made its way through Wilmington with the gift of rain! (My garden is happy I'm sure!)  Knowing we were going to get a lot of rain, I (being the planner that I am) did a beach clean up yesterday!

As I did my 142nd beach clean up, The Daily Ocean did her 286th on the exact same day.  The day after Memorial Day and our beach clean ups couldn't be more different.  

Here's the comparison:

Santa Monica:  5.9 lbs of litter and TWO cigarette butts

Wrightsville Beach: 1 lb 3.6 oz of litter and 148 cigarette butts

When I see the overall difference between our two beaches, I get even more excited about the possibility of Wrightsville Beach becoming the first smoke-free beach in North Carolina!  Less litter means a cleaner more family friendly beach!!  Just maybe we'd find Wrightsville Beach on a top beaches list like this one: Dr. Beach's Top American 10 Beaches

Another reason to keep our beaches clean is that the majority of people that visit the beach come barefoot.  No one wants to be stepping on or worry about stepping on trash.  One of my personal favorite things about the beach is feeling the sand beneath my feet... I like feeling the variance of the texture... the heat... the coolness.  It grounds me.  For me, life is better barefoot.  And from what I read yesterday, going barefoot is healthy.  Check it out and then (if you haven't already) kick off your shoes :)  7 Health Benefits of Going Barefoot Outside

20 minutes on May 29, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 1 lb 3.6 oz

Cigarette butts: 148

Straws: 10

That's my cat Millie checking out the litter we picked up at the beach ;)

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 142 days:

45,530

Glass Dharma's 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day

It's only been a year since I started sipping my drinks again.  You see, I went several years saying "no thank you" to disposable plastic straws.  After finding so many littered on the beach, I just can't force myself to use them.  I still refuse plastic straws, but thanks to Glass Dharma reaching out to me last Earth Day, I have grown very fond of glass straws. :)

Some people say that Christmas is the season for giving, but if you know Glass Dharma... their season for giving is happening right now!  Each year for the past 4 years, Glass Dharma marks Earth Day by giving away FREE (yup, I said it: FREE) glass straws!!  AND... this year they want to go BIG!  Glass Dharma wants to give away 1000 FREE glass straws!!

It's super easy to participate!  Glass Dharma is asking YOU to share why you love glass straws OR why you would love a glass straw!  I'm super stoked that Glass Dharma has asked me to take an active role in helping them give away 1000 glass straws that I had to make a submission of my own to share!



Yup, I love sipping my drinks... slurping up the end of my smoothies... and taking my kids to get fun things like root beer floats.... all while encouraging others to kick their plastic straw habit.  :)

How about you?  What do you LOVE (or what would you love) about glass straws??

To participate in the 1000 FREE Glass Straws for Earth Day, be sure to follow all of the directions below! If you have questions, let me know!

Entrants - please include:
1. 100 to 200 word essay in an attached document (or) a link to a 1 to 3 minute YouTube Video
2. Your name, email address and mailing address. (In the body of your email)
3. Email your request for a free glass straw to: EarthDay@GlassDharma.com 
4. One entry per person (If multiple people are using the same email address, please note in the body of the email.)

Glass Straws and how they relate to a better world is the suggested inspiration point of submissions for this contest. Content ideas might include: Beauty, Joy, Taste & Planet Care (Environmental). Creativity is encouraged as you write or shoot your video!

Video and Essay submission instructions – simply include the link to your “YouTube Video” or attach your essay to your email (Word format (.doc) or basic text (.txt) format please)  

Electronic (email) submissions are preferred to snail mail as an optimum eco-choice. All entries must be received by Earth Day, April 22. We will begin shipping the straws after April 1^st and the 2 grand prize winners will be posted (and contacted) by May 5^th.

The first 1000 essay/video contest entries received by the Earth Day deadline will receive a free Glass Straw from GlassDharma!Please note that GlassDharma will pay shipping charges for each free glass straw up to $3.00 (free shipping for USA deliveries)

A judging panel consisting of three passionate Environmental Bloggers and three members of the GlassDharma staff is ready to select 10 finalists, five for the video category, and five for the essay category.  One Grand Prize Winner for each category will be selected by popular vote amongst the judges. Grand Prize Winners will receive a $100.00 electronic GlassDharma Gift Code by email.

Music in video by Joel P. West.

More blogposts about the 1000 Free Glass Straws:

Good Girl Gone Green: No Straw, Please

Our Daily Ocean: Day 126

Friday afternoon, my husband and I went to Wrightsville Beach.  Because it was such a gorgeous day, I made the decision that I wanted to go to Johnnie Mercer's Pier.  I often have mixed feelings about that particular area at WB, because it is no doubt part of the trashiest area on the beach strand.  My mixed feelings come from it being a place where I can easily show the lack of responsibility people take and just how disrespectful some people are.... but... as much as this is good to teach awareness, it just gets overwhelming and frustrating sometimes.  Case in point:

Because there was so much trash in just this one area, my husband decided to drag the trash can down and pick it all up.  (Yes, part of our 20 minutes was taken to clean up that mess and I didn't add it to the tally.)  SO... as we saw that big mess strewn across the sand... we questioned why the people couldn't just walk the trash up to the trash cans??  BUT... then we raised a bigger question.  If people that litter THAT much trash and aren't caught and/or cited... then how in the world do the three Wrightsville Beach aldermen that voted down the proposed smoking ban expect someone who litters something as small as a cigarette butt to be cited for littering??  I ask that question in all seriousness.  I wonder from a police officer's point of view how difficult that task must be??  

It sounds daunting if not impossible.  Though I would be the first to say that I believe that anything is possible.  BUT, with a small police force at WB... I wonder about the feasibility of police officers being able to truly enforce the littering law... especially when it comes to cigarette butts?  Hmmm... Since the public hearing we have done 3 clean ups at Wrightsville Beach.  My friend Sara has done 4 beach clean ups in Santa Monica.  We're comparing the amount of cigarettes found on our two beaches in just 20 minute increments.  So far the difference is staggering.  We ask, "Can you tell which beach has banned smoking?"

Wrigthsville Beach: 3 beach clean ups-- 781 cigarette butts

Santa Monica: 4 beach clean ups-- 57 cigarette butts

Another thing that happened yesterday, was us seeing a group of people pack up their stuff and leave their trash. (See the people standing just to the right of the access sign?  Yeah, that's them.)  They grabbed all their chairs, towels, etc... but failed to grab 2 plastic water bottles and 2 freshly smoked cigarettes.  When my husband approached them to let them know that they forgot some things, he received a common response: "Oh, we were going to come back for that." (RIGHT, because those water bottles and cigarette butts are so important they'd never be forgotten.)  Please note the sarcasm... because as often as we've heard that line (along with the "that's not ours" line)... no one ever packs up everything... walks all the way to the access and goes back for their cigarette butts or other trash.  By the way, as the conversation progressed... her story changed to place the blame on the young teenager that was with them.  (sad)

I'm here to make a difference.  Want to join in?

20 minutes on March 16, 2012 at Access 15

Litter by weight: 1 lb 12 oz

Cigarette butts: 210

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 126 days:

42,033

Our Daily Ocean: Day 123

Yesterday afternoon, I packed up the back of my car with a year and a half's work at Wrightsville Beach.  122 non-consecutive days of cleaning up my local beach and documenting the cigarette litter problem filled the back of my car with 40,827 cigarette butts.

I headed out to the beach to do a couple of interviews and a beach cleanup before the Wrightsville Beach public hearing on the proposed smoke-free beach ordinance.  I had a chance to share what we've done at Wrightsville Beach and why a smoking ban on the beach strand is important.  

  Check out the video here: WWAY: Woman Picks Up More Than 40,000 butts 

Once I finished with the interviews, I did a quick 20 minute beach clean up.  As usual, I picked up everything I found.  I originally had plans of counting what I picked up at the beach before the public hearing... but decided that having picked up nearly 41,000 was sufficient to show how bad the problem really is.  I went to the public hearing full of hope and optimism with my family and a community of supporters wearing blue.

The hearing was absolutely AMAZING.  Seeing the community come together was so inspiring and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.  During the hearing there were so many people that spoke out in support of a Smoke-Free WB... so many people that there wasn't enough allotted time for everyone to speak!!  We came prepared with facts and research to back up what we were asking the WB Board of Alderman to support.  I even offered this: I have committed myself to this problem and be assured that I stand here with you to help begin fixing this problem.  I offer my support in helping educate, enforce, promote and publicize the smoke-free ordinance.

Photo courtesy: Tracy Carr

 While the opposition, was scarce and comments were purely opinion driven... and fewer than 10 people opposing the ban...  the WB Board of Alderman voted 3-2 against banning smoking on the beach strand. Of course, I'm frustrated by this because it is obvious that last night democracy failed at Wrightsville Beach.  (Democracy failed because supporters outnumbered those opposing by 10-1.... nearly 1200 people wrote the alderman expressing their support and 402 Wrightsville Beach residents wrote in support of the proposed ordinance.  If you're wondering, one of the new board members was elected into office with 320 votes.)

I am particularly disheartened by the disrespectful comment made by Alderman Mayor Pro Tem Susan Collins in reference to the 40,827 cigarette butts we have removed from the beach.  When giving her address to the public before the vote she said, 

"I pick up cigarette butts at the beach, I just don't bring them to meetings."

I wonder if Ms. Collins has any idea the amount of time and effort we put into helping keep WB clean?  I wonder if she understands the amount of time and energy put in by ALL of the other volunteers that come out to help keep WB clean and beautiful?  We may not live on WB, but trust me... if WE (Big Sweep volunteers, Surfrider, Keep It Clean, adopt an access volunteers, boy scouts, etc) didn't do it... no one else would.

Photo courtesy: Ocean Cure

 I am grateful and have so much respect for Mayor Cignotti and Alderman Sisson who sat as elected officials and voted as the voice of the majority.  I thank them for doing their jobs as elected officials.  I have so much gratitude for this community... locally and globally.  Those who stood with us and those who sent in their support via emails and letters to the board... including the North Carolina American Lung Association.   

Photo courtesy: Ocean Cure

Please know that as much as I am disappointed... I am empowered more than ever.  This is not a roadblock.  This is an opportunity to do more.

20 minutes on March 8, 2012 at Access 16

Litter by weight: 7.3 oz

Cigarette butts: 425

Total amount of cigarette butts removed from Wrightsville Beach, NC in 123 days: 

41,252