Posted on: Saturday, May 21, 2005
Cleanup found 22% more debris
| • | Chart: Trash hits the beaches |
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i's beaches coughed up 22 percent more debris — primarily cigarette butts and beverage lids — in a recent annual volunteer cleanup, raising concerns about the health of one of the state's biggest attractions, advocates say.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser Of the total, 48,085 items were cigarette butts and filters, and 15,817 were beverage caps and lids, said the group.
About a dozen people, including members of the conservancy, conducted a brief, much smaller cleanup yesterday at a Sand Island beach near the Marine Education Center.
"It was kind of neat," said Keahi Birch, Matson Navigation's manager of Hawai'i environmental affairs, who led the group to the location.
"Most of these people are from the conservancy and don't live here. And they came out and spent time helping clean up one of our beaches."
Here are seven things you can do to reduce the amount of marine debris that enters the ocean:
Dispose of trash properly, no matter where you are. Litter on any part of the island can eventually wash into the ocean. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Look for alternative materials or avoid excessive packaging when deciding on purchases. Cut the rings of six-pack holders. This lowers the risk of entangling marine animals if the holders do make it out to sea. Participate in local beach, river or stream cleanups. Educate others about marine debris. Get involved locally. Source: Ocean Conservancy "We're having our first conference on O'ahu because the Islands represent a very keen example of what marine debris can do — the good and bad," said Seba Sheavly, director of The Ocean Conservancy, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C.
"The good about O'ahu is the fact that people here understand the issue and are working diligently to deal with it," Sheavly said. "The bad part is that because O'ahu is surrounded by coral reefs, marine debris can have a tremendous impact. You have the most precious resources here. So, we kind of use Hawai'i as a focal point."
The Hawai'i cleanup on Sept. 18, 2004, was part of a worldwide effort in which 305,000 people from the United States and 87 other countries removed and documented some 8 million pounds of beach and waterway pollution. That included everything from food wrappers and fishnets to plastic bottles, bags and eating utensils.
In Hawai'i, 2,458 volunteers fanned out across 109 miles of shorelines, including the famous snorkeling cove of Hanauma Bay and Queen's Surf in Waikiki, as well as the seldom-visited Slipper Island near the Honolulu International Airport.
"It was like that whole island was built on plastic bags," said Chris Woolaway, coordinator of the Hawai'i cleanup. "It's an incredible amount of stuff that ends up on our beaches."
In about three hours, the cleanup volunteers on Slipper Island bagged more than 6 tons of plastic food containers, diapers, fishing line, hooks, glass and plastic bottles, Woolaway said.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser The number of Hawai'i volunteers and the distance covered in the 2004 cleanup were comparable to the 2003 effort.
Organizers hope this week's conference raises awareness about beach litter and highlights success stories.
Such stories are essential in keeping the public actively involved in minimizing beach trash, Woolaway said.
"The marine debris problem can become so big that it's overwhelming," she said. "You've got to give people something that they can do that they feel good about. The idea is to sustain the effort."
Sheavly said the problem can be broken down to one simple premise: Marine debris is caused by people, and it can only be solved by people.
"Every piece of trash above the water, on the water's edge or under water is coming from a person's hand," she said. "And people sometimes don't realize what these things can do."
The solution, Sheavly and her colleagues contend, is simply to remind folks of the hazards of beach pollution and show them how to help reduce it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8038.
In a report released yesterday, the Ocean Conservancy says its annual cleanup here last year yielded a total of 137,763 pieces of trash, up from 112,586 items the year before.
Brian Edwards of Virginia Beach, here for the International Coastal Cleanup Conference, picks up trash on Sand Island while, at left, a member of the Ocean Conservancy keeps a log of the debris collected during yesterday's small-scale project.
Conservancy members are in Honolulu for the organization's 20th International Coastal Cleanup Conference, which began yesterday and runs through Tuesday.
Do your part
Other debris items collected that can be especially harmful to sea creatures were balloons, six-pack holders, rope, plastic sheeting and fishing line.
Sand Island shores are littered with plastic material discarded after meals. The Ocean Conservancy is raising awareness of litter.
