What Not to Bring to the Beach
Last year U.S. beach closings and advisories d
ue to pollution were at an all-time high, at more than 20,000, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’sTesting the Waters annual report.
The primary culprit: rain flushes human and animal waste from aging sewer systems, urban streets, and agricultural fields into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Human waterborne illnesses associated with this stream of fecal matter include gastrointestinal sickness and skin rashes.
But don’t let that scare you. There are still hundreds of clean ocean or lakeside spots for respite (just heed advisories and avoid swimming after storms), and dozens of things you can do to protect your favorite beach.
Eliminate plastic:
Other forms of ocean and beach pollution include visible trash, especially plastics. During the last international coastal cleanup organized by nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, nearly 7 million pounds of debris—more than 40 percent of it plastic—were collected by volunteers. This included 1.3 million plastic bags, nearly 1 million food containers and wrappers, close to 940,000 caps and lids, roughly 710,000 plastic bottles, 500,000 straws and stirrers, and just over 440,000 plastic utensils.
By many expert accounts, plastic debris sailing the oceans is responsible for the death of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles annually. Plastic pieces are often found in the stomachs of dead ocean-going beasts.
The simple solution: Instead of bottled drinks and disposable plates and cutlery, use a re-usable thermos, and pack in re-usable dishes, knives, forks, and spoons—at the beach and for all other outings, picnics, and barbeques.
Smoking ban:
During the coastal cleanup, volunteers found more than 3.2 million cigarette butts and filters. If you have to smoke, don’t leave evidence.
Stick to organic sunscreens, cosmetics, and insect repellent:
Research has shown that some sunscreen compounds suspected to be endocrine disruptors are finding their way into fish tissue. Scientists have said some of these could alter reproductive function and birth weight in fish. Not all ultraviolet filters have harmful materials, but to be safe, try to use natural ingredients. The possible synergistic human health and environmental affects of residue from the hundreds of chemical compounds in cosmetics and personal care products give water quality experts a real fright.
Pack out trash:
Not only is trash and food waste on the beach an eyesore that can end up suffocating sealife, it attracts birds and wildlife that end up defecating on the sand. This ends up contributing to the already problematic sewage problem, says Nancy Stoner, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s clean water project. She advocates disposing trash in lidded bins, or if those are not available, containing the trash and packing it out yourself.
No leaky diapers:
“When it says swim diaper, that doesn’t mean [the waste is] self contained,” Stoner said. “I know this from personal experience. Plastic pants are the way to go.”
Pick up pet waste:
“Pet waste is a big problem and so easily solved by scooping up the waste,” Stoner adds.
Capture stormwater and keep things clean at home:
If you can, think about replacing impervious surfaces such as asphalt with more water-absorbing surfaces such as gravel, garden, or lawn. A relatively easy way to reduce storm-water runoff is to redirect the downspouts from your rain gutters from impervious surfaces (your driveway or sidewalk) to your yard. And if you have impervious surfaces, keep them clean, free of oil, gas, and other pollutants.
“Lots of people run [storm-water] out into the driveway,” said Stoner. “They think they are getting rid of storm-water by discharging it to a pipe but it may flow to the beach.”
In addition, using natural fertilizers will help reduce the amount of chemicals, nitrogen, and phosphorus entering waterways, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These compounds en masse can cause ocean algal blooms. When these blooms die, they suck oxygen out of the water, sometimes killing the fish and oceanlife that need it, creating a dead zone.
