Have you ever seen a cigarette butt on the side of the road and wondered where it eventually ends up? Well, that trash gets washed down a storm drain with innumerable other bits of trash. Those drains flow into ditches that flow into streams. The streams flow into rivers and bays and finally make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. That cigarette butt has traveled from the street to our shores filled with vulnerable marine life. Sadly, countless pieces [...]
Several numbers can tell the story of waste left behind on Alabama beaches. Did you know, for example, that more than 161 tons of materials were removed from the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in 2016? Or that 101.3 tons of trash were collected in cans on just four miles of beach? Other collection numbers include 18.5 tons of aluminum cans (the equivalent of 814,000 cans), 23.8 tons of plastic and 18 tons of metal tent frames and [...]
Throwing that candy wrapper or plastic bottle into the proper receptacle when you’re at the beach may seem like a small thing. But it can make a big difference in our environment. Each year, an estimated 17 billion pounds of plastic ends up in our oceans. That plastic - along with other debris and trash - poses a threat to wildlife, as they can become entrapped or mistake the items for food. Even fishing gear left behind is a hazard. [...]
