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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, September 19, 2008

Global cleanup day helps clear beaches

By Dave Dondoneau
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser
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AT A GLANCE

What: Global Coastal Cleanup Day

When: Tomorrow, 8 a.m. to noon

Where: About 25 beaches on O'ahu and 75 statewide, covering some 160 miles of coast

Last year: 4,382 Hawai'i volunteers participated, removing 72,224 pounds of trash and debris from Hawaii shores

Get involved: Call Christina Woolaway, statewide cleanup coordinator, at 753-3311 or chris@woolaway.com, or getthedriftandbagit@gmail.com.

Learn more: www.getthedriftandbagit.com.

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THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STOP DEBRIS

1. Join the cleanup.

2. Clean up your own trash. And pick up any debris you see while on the water or the beach.

3. Collect your monofilament fishing line. Retrieve any other line you may find while fishing, but be careful not to tug on snagged lines, which could be caught on habitat below the surface.

4. Contain and properly clean spills when boating. Use oil-absorbent rags and materials to clean spills.

5. Recycle used motor oil and oil filters. Never pour oil, paint or other household chemicals into an open sewer or down a storm drain.

6. Consider organic alternatives to household detergents and cleaners. Use lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda for household cleaning. Avoid using fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and harsh chemical cleaners that can wash into waterways.

7. Choose reusable items and use fewer disposable ones.

8. Properly dispose of used batteries and electronics. Don't dump them in landfills, use your local recycling center. These items leach harmful chemicals.

9. Keep streets, sidewalks, parking lots and storm drains clear of trash and debris — they empty into our ocean.

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No matter how many times he participates, Michael Carberry is always astounded at the amount of trash collected on Hawai'i beaches during Global Coastal Cleanup Day.

"I've been doing it five years and it's a good way to give back to the environment," said Carberry, a Hawaiian Electric employee. "Two years ago we picked up about 200 spare tires and every year in just a few hours we collect enough trash to fill a 30- or 40-foot bin. Never fails."

Carberry and about 90 other HECO employees and their families and friends will collect trash tomorrow morning along a mile of Kahe Point's Electric Beach. They'll be joined by thousands of other people in Hawai'i and many more around the world during the annual event.

Last year, 4,382 volunteers collected 72,224 pounds of trash from more than 160 miles of coastline in Hawai'i. Globally, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared more than 6 million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways.

The biggest polluters? Smokers.

In Hawai'i, 72,254 cigarettes and cigarette filters were collected last year — 44.2 percent of all trash items collected, according to The Ocean Conservancy, which organizes the event and compiles the information on what is collected.

Caps and lids for various drinks were next on the list at 13 percent, while food wrappers, cups, plates and other type of picnic items, along with bags, rounded out the top five types of debris on Hawai'i beaches.

Sharon Higa, spokeswoman for HECO, said abandoned car parts are always part of the Kahe cleanup.

"A few years ago I remember our volunteers saying they had collected enough car parts to build an entire car," Higa said.

Christina Woolaway, state coordinator for the cleanup, said about 5,000 volunteers at 25 beaches on O'ahu and 75 statewide beaches are expected to participate tomorrow.

"We're hoping to collect at least as much as last year," Woolaway said. "The one thing about this day is it gives leaders a snapshot of what's out there to deal with. Illegal dump sites. Dumped car parts. If you go to some Leeward beaches, you find burned wooden palettes with nails just sitting out there."

Woolaway said this year's total is hard to predict because of the state primary elections.

"Go vote and then collect, or collect, then vote," she said. "Election years are always tough to determine."

This year, Woolaway said, two pieces of trash are of particular interest in Hawai'i: fishing line and black plastic tubes.

"The fishing lines can be recycled and we have a list of places to do so on our Web site," Woolaway said.

"The black tubes are used as spacers for oyster farms and during storms and as such they'll often break loose and float into the main Hawaiian Islands. They end up getting ingested by birds and can be deadly. It's a big problem here."

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.