Walking on the beach is one of my favorite things to do to de-stress.
I always bring a bag with me to collect any trash I find along the way. Many times it leaves me with so many questions as to how the different items wind up on the beach.
This was Saturday of 4th of July weekend at the Jersey Shore and here is what we collected: 3 h20 bottles, 2 Wawa coffee cups, 1 Wawa coffee lid, beer can, 2 Gatorade bottled, a large plastic lid, 2 mylar balloons and 6 balloon strings & balloon bits, 1 toy shovel, 1 broken toy shovel, wiffle ball, tennis ball, toy cat figure, pink Frisbee, 2 bucket handles, 4 bottle lids, 1 chapstick, bits of Styrofoam, & 30 assorted plastic snack wrappers.
By far the biggest culprit is snack wrappers. From ice cream, chip bags, granola bars, fruit snacks, crackers, & so many more.
If you are taking a trip to the beach here are some tips to keep the trash from winding up on the beach:
- Take any tags off of new chairs, umbrellas, towels, etc. at home.
- Back snacks in tupperware containers rather than bring them to the beach in plastic wrappers or plastic bags.
- Bring reusable water bottles to the beach which are less likely to be left on the beach as opposed to water bottles, juice boxes, juice box straw wrappers.
- Count how many toys you are taking to the beach and then re-count when you are leaving the beach to make sure you have them all.
Have fun at the beach and don’t forget to wear sunscreen!