Source: USA TODAY
The Ocean Conservancy said Tuesday that its 2012 International Coastal Cleanup collected more than 10 million pounds of trash.
More than 550,000 people picked up 10,149,988 pounds of trash along 17,719 miles of coastlines from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31.
This was the 27th year of the cleanup by the Ocean Conservancy, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. In addition, country and state International Coastal Cleanup coordinators host cleanups around the year on their local beaches and waterways, or in response to natural disasters.
Nicholas Mallos, Ocean Conservancy’s marine debris specialist and conservation biologist, says the volunteer effort in the International Coastal Cleanup is testament to concern about the health and well-being of beaches and oceans.
“Trash doesn’t start and stop at the trash can, and out of sight doesn’t mean out of our ocean,” Mallos says. “From product creation to disposal, we must tackle trash at every point.”
Consumers can use reusable items, industries can reinvent materials in their manufacturing processes, and governments can implement policies that ensure trash is captured before entering the ocean, he explains.
Ninety-seven countries or locations participated in the 2012 cleanup. The 10 countries that yielded the most trash (in order): USA, the Philippines, Canada, Hong Kong, Dominican Republic, Mexico, India, Peru, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. The USA yielded about 3.6 million pounds of trash.
At most of the cleanups, weight of debris was measured either on site with scales or via waste-hauling services that reported the weight of the load after it had been hauled to a processing facility. Volunteers counted the items of trash by hand.
“The items that we use in our everyday lives routinely are the most common items we are finding on our beaches,” Mallos says.
Top 10 items found:
The weirdest finds included 4,159 candles, 2,492 sports balls, 236 toothbrushes, 117 mattresses and 40 lottery tickets. Rubber chickens and a kitchen sink also were found.
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