Slobs by the sea
Study says we love to leave our plastic trash behind on beaches.
A new report from Ocean Conservancy looked at how much garbage beach goers left behind.
And the top 10 items gathered by volunteers were made of plastic, according to the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit group which released its 2017 International Coast Cleanup study June 27.
Cigarette butts, which have plastic filters, led the list of 2.4 million items most frequently picked up on the beach.
That was followed by food wrappers, plastic beverage bottles, plastic bottle caps and plastic grocery bags. In Florida, about 173,552 pounds of trash was collected for a total of 644,422 items including more than 95,600 cigarette butts during the clean up day.
Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were other plastic bags, straws/stirrers, plastic take-out containers, plastic lids, and foam takeout containers.
The study included 789,000 volunteers in more than 100 countries who participated in the one-day beach cleanup. The more unusual or weird finds in Florida included an alligator skin purse, a toilet, two plastic flamingos and a park bench.
“Over the years, we have seen plastics creeping into the top 10 list, displacing items like rope, beverage cans and paper bags,” said Nicholas Mallos, director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program. “But this is the first year that all 10 of the top 10 items collected are made of plastic.”