Our beaches should not look like this!

Stranded seaweed provides an important food source for beach and nearshore food chains, and should be left in place when possible. Human debris can pose a hazard to humans and animals, and should be removed.  Though are volunteers are diligent in trying to keep this food source debris free it's imperitive everyone takes part in disposing of their litter properly.

CIGARETTE BUTTS ARE LITTER TOO!

A dead fish found on the beach amongst seaweed and cigerette butts 

Baby Moorehen with its mother.  This fragile life deserves to live in a litter free home.

Litter harms animals!!!

Did you know a piece of school notebook paper takes thirty days and thirty nights to break down into pieces small enough to become part of the earth again?  Or did you know a soda can takes 200 years!!!!! It costs $15 million a year just to pick up the litter in our national parks.  This  is litter that is endangering our animals and the environment.

     Bluntly, Litter can harm and kill animals!  For example, they can get their heads trapped in glass jars and metal cans when trying to lick out the contents.  Always rinse them out.  Put the lids back on jars and crush metal and plastic food containers before recycling them.  Yoplait yogurt containers are especially dangerous to animals because of the unusual shape.  If you use this product, make sure you crush the container before recycling.  Better yet make sure that these things are secure in your recycle bins for pick up days and best put out the morning of the pick up day.  To leave garbage and recycables can attract animals that unfortunately don't know better.  Bears, raccoons and birds are just a few animails that can get into your trash and be harmed.

It’s not just cans and jars that can hurt animals.  Animals can get entangled and killed or maimed in fishing lines that have been discarded carelessly.  They can get lead poisoning from eating lead sinkers that fishermen throw away.  They can get mercury poisoning from batteries that are carelessly tossed out.  They can get their heads stuck in the plastic that holds six packs together.  Never put these in the garbage without first cutting each ring.  Many water birds have been strangled by the soda plastic six pack holders (anyone see Happy Feet?). Don’t ever throw food or litter out of a car window.   It attracts animals to the road where they can be killed or injured by other cars.  Don’t break glass jars and bottles in the street.  Broken glass can hurt animals and people too.  There is no excuse not to throw away your litter in the appropriate receptacle and not on the ground  or in the water. Everyone should know better.  Laziness and inconsderation are not acceptable reasons to litter.

UNDER THE SEA LITTER & ANIMALS 

On the sea surface

Animals are attracted to natural items on the sea's surface for food and shelter. Man-made litter can resemble natural food items and many species are known to eat litter, which can be lethal. The litter itself may be toxic to marine species, and studies have shown that plastic materials can actually attract and pick up (adsorb) pollutants from the environment, too. Unlike natural material plastics may never biodegrade, and will last for a very long time. Animals can easily become entangled in some forms of litter.Animals and plants living attached to litter items may be transported thousands of miles by ocean currents to new areas. This can introduce 'alien' species (non native invasive animals and plants) to new areas. Recent research suggests that the quantity of plastic marine debris, on a global scale, is increasing the risk of alien species colonising new places. In the water column

Most litter items floating in the water column will have come from the sea's surface where they have become colonised (fouled) by algae (seaweeds) and encrusting animals. As the weight of the litter grows, it sinks below the surface and into the water column. Although it is very difficult to say what effect the litter will have, it is likely that it will then have similar effects to those on the surface - ingestion, toxicity, entanglement.  The litter will however come into contact with different animal species which live in the water column. Gradually as it increases in weight and becomes less buoyant, it will sink to the sea floor.

On the seabed

There is less known about impacts on the seabed as it is difficult to study - but what little is known is worrying. Animals living on the surface of the seabed can be smothered by litter blocking out light and nutrients (Galgani et al, 2000). 

Larger items can be dragged around the seabed by currents scraping and tearing up the seabed - imagine the damage that could be caused to a coral reef (Laist, 1997). A trawl across the Mediterranean Sea in 1997 trawled up over 300 million pieces of rubbish from depths up to 2,550 meters (Beachwatch 2004, MCS). MCS studies have shown that beach litter is increasing and globally litter is on the increase - so this it likely to be true of the seabed. 

Artificial Reefs

Large amounts of waste materials (such as redundant ships, aircraft, oil platforms) are disposed of at sea around the world, either through accidents or deliberately. These structures can rapidly become inhabited by animal species, and may become a new site for reef building species.The long term impacts of disposing large waste items at sea are not fully understood and require further investigation before reefs can be recommended as a valid reason or "excuse" for dumping certain wastes

OUR ANIMAL PHOTO ALBUM

See what lovely creatures we are trying to protect in our area from the harmful litter that is left behind.  Without our help they are at risk for injury, illness or death,

Would you do this in your home?

THEN DON'T DO IT IN THEIRS!

*All pictures are taken by R.A.Halasz unless otherwise stated and are the property of the Sand Sifters..*