Thursday, August 4, 7:22 AM. Seagulls crying in the distance. Flipflops left by the lifeguard tower, a ratty beach chair folded up & stowed away. (Forgotten?) Fog slowly burning off. Welcome to Bay View, Saco, Maine:
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| Still love seeing a beach like this |
The week brought a little more energy to Bay View. Recent tides had crept higher up the shore, a few bits tumbled in from the deep ocean. But in general, the word of this day was still "dull." In fact, the above is the only picture I took while out and about. This had basically been another busy beach week, with busy-beach trash. Here's
Zone N:
229 finds:
- Building materials: 4 (asphalt chunks)
- Foam/Styrofoam: 15
- Fishing misc.: 17 (4 rope, 8 pieces of rope twine unfurled from impromptu "art" on shore, 4 claw bands, 1 trap tag)
- Food-related plastics: 32 (15 food wrappers, 3 fresh fruit stickers, 7 straw wrappers, 4 bottle caps, straw, chewing gum, spoon scrap)
- Food-related metal/glass: 10 (burned tin can, 4 bottle caps, 2 foil wrappers, 2 sea glass, pull tab)
- Nonfood/unknown plastics: 32 (9 bags/scraps, balloon, 2 bandaids, flosser, watergun stopper, sunglasses, rubberband, tie strap, pen cap, twist-tie, 5 ribbon bits, dessicant, 7 scraps <1")
- Cigarette filters/plastics: 93 (89 cigarettes, 4 plastics)
- Paper/wood: 21 (13 paper scraps, 7 firecracker sticks, popsicle stick)
- Misc./unique: 5 fabric scraps
Going on the record here, I hate these things:
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| Fresh fruit, now with more plastic! |
I know, of all the things to hate. But it's so unnecessary. Even a person trying to be healthy, eating an unpackaged piece of fresh fruit -- instead of corn syrup, salt, and modified food starch -- ends up with plastic at the end of their snack. Why, and how, did we do this in just a couple generations?
The other thing I hate:
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| I have 2100 more at home |
The cigarette numbers have been lower on the beach than last year. I hate that I'm kind of happy to "only" find 89 of these in a week. And the parking lot that I scoured in June is utterly trashed with them again.
(But I have exciting news on that front, which I'll only tease with here. Maybe somebody will take the Bait?)
Anyway, food packs, cigarettes, And a quick view of
Zone S:
31 finds:
- Building materials: 1 (fence slat)
- Foam/Styrofoam: 4
- Fishing misc.: 5 (fishing rope twine, from another decayed bit of art)
- Food-related plastics: 3 (food wrapper scrap, straw wrapper, gum)
- Food-related metal/glass: 2 (can scrap, sea glass)
- Nonfood/unknown plastics: 7 (firecracker, tape, 1 scrap >1", 4 scraps <1")
- Cigarette filters/plastics: 6
- Paper/wood: 2 (popsicle stick, firework stick)
- Misc./unique: 1 (tiny scrap of fabric)
Wow. There is just nothing to say about this. Wouldn't it be nice to think that a long stretch of Saco Bay really stayed this relatively clean week after week?
Fruit stickers are SO annoying!!!! I don't know how it happened, but here's what I do know: When I was a kid, my mom worked at a grocery store. Back then, each store had its own code for produce... then all of the sudden nationwide each fruit/veggie got it's own code and it didn't matter which store you went to... the code was the same. Just like that VOILÀ little plastic stickers. (This totally makes me want to look up how this all happened... does it have to do with more options than conventional? so we know what's organic and what's gmo?... Wish that everything was just grown organic then we wouldn't have to think about any of the above.)
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that 89 seems so few... because it is way too many. But honestly... 89 would be awesome here.... really awesome. I have news, too... and I can't wait to share! :)
By the way, I'll take the Bait(tank)!!! (Is a happy dance in order???)
ooh, cigarette butts are one of my biggest pet peeves! (from KY, I smoked when I was younger, but I never tossed the butts out the window. they need to bring back litterbug commercials like those that influenced me when I was young.) thank you for raising awareness on this issue of garbage on our beaches!!
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I think this site might hold the answers to those & many more questions: http://www.nationalfinder.com/fruitlabels/. Try the "PLU Numbers" link inside. I love that whatever the question, someone on the Internet has probably been working the answer. And now you've got me curious about your news!
ReplyDeleteAnd Dmarie, I agree -- the topic of litter & garbage & pollution has really dropped off the page. We just don't see it or think about it. And it's ended up sneaking into every nook & corner of our world, right under our noses.