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Marine Debris

Aerial view of the Chesapeake Beach shoreline at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore of Virginia

Kiptopeke State Park Awarded $1,000 Green Grant

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Aerial view of the Chesapeake Beach shoreline at Kiptopeke State Park on the Eastern Shore of VirginiaKiptopeke State Park is awarded a $1,000 Green Grant in the Litter Prevention category as part of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s 13th Annual Green Grants Program.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic, and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 that will help address an environmental concern in their community.  Grants must focus on one of the following priorities:   Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification.Wooden walkway leading to the beach at Kiptopeke State Park

Kiptopeke State Park, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, offers recreational access to Chesapeake Bay.  It has accessible trails, beach wheelchairs, free educational programs, and the opportunity to explore unique migratory bird habitats along the Atlantic flyway.

Funds provided by the Green Grant award will be used to purchase cleanup equipment and supplies to combat marine debris along the 5.1 miles of beach coastline at the park, as well as add new signage about litter and marine debris in the Chesapeake Bay. They will be developing an interactive educational display located at the South Beach entrance to demonstrate how long certain litter will last on land and in the bay.

According to the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, “As much as 80% of marine debris comes from land-based sources such as plastic bags and food containers. Abandoned or derelict fishing gear, vessels, and other water-based sources also significantly contribute to the problem.”   Marine debris can include balloons, plastic bags, food and drink containers, lost crab pots, oyster bags and cages, fishing line and nets, and any other kind of persistent solid material that is intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment.

Congratulations Kiptopeke State Park, and thank you for taking care of your portion of the Chesapeake Bay shoreline!

 

 

Hand reaching out of pile of plastic

What’s SUP?

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Hand reaching out of pile of plasticSo, what’s SUP?  It’s the acronym for “Single-Use Plastic” and the source of much of the litter in our landscape.  A 2020 nationwide litter study conducted by Keep America Beautiful determined that plastic is the most littered item by material group.  It includes plastic water bottles, plastic produce bags and store shopping bags, straws, plastic utensils, sandwich baggies and many, many others.

In 2022 OpinionWorks, in collaboration with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program and Clean Virginia Waterways of Longwood University, conducted a representative statewide sampling of 901 Virginia registered voters March 8-13, 2022.  It concludes that 55% of those surveyed believe “Plastic floating in the ocean” was second on the list of top concerns, and 24% believe that “Trash and litter in your community” is a “very serious concern.”  The study also showed broad support among voters for laws that would decrease litter and marine debris.  You can read more about this Virginia Voter survey:  2022 Public Perception Survey Plastic Pollution

SUP is a huge problem.  Single-use plastics are items that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals).  They become discardable almost immediately, once the candy is popped in your mouth, the fork for your take-out food is being used, the wrapper on a pack of almost anything you buy.  SUP is unsightly on the side of the road, it clogs storm drains, it pollutes waterways, and it’s harmful to wildlife.

But there is much we can do to help.

Although many plastic items are technically recyclable, there are fewer opportunities to recycle with some businesses being unwilling or unable to offer to collect and sort used plastic, and some residents can’t locate facilities that accept all forms of plastic.  If you are on a litter cleanup, it’s often necessary to dispose of items that can’t be recycled — such as a bottle that has been run over by a car or has been lying in the mud  for a year — because it is no longer a viable product to be recycled.

The best plan of action is to stop using SUP when possible.  Arm yourself with a few items daily, and you’ll be prepared to say “No thanks” to SUP throughout the day.  Get yourself a refillable water bottle – with your favorite color, sports team, nonprofit cause, pooch, or alma mater; a metal or silicone straw you keep in your purse or pocket; a bamboo or metal spoon and fork will help you avoid plastic utensils at lunch time when you dine out, as will reusable Stasher bags eliminate the need for SUP sandwich baggies if you like to brown bag it.

So know what’s SUP in your life that can be replaced with reusable items.  Besides not adding to the SUP problem, you’ll most likely be saving money!  It’s good for the environment, and it’s good for you.

Sea Turle with Plastic in Water

Virginia Marine Debris Summit – Part 2

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Sea Turle with Plastic in WaterThe 2022 Virginia Marine Debris Summit was held at the Virginia Aquarium and Science Center in Virginia Beach at the end of September.  Held once every three years (except when it was interrupted by Covid), it’s an opportunity to bring together experts from the EPA, NOAAH, DEQ, as well as concerned groups and individuals who care about the plastic that is polluting our oceans, harming wildlife, and fouling the scenery.

Because we are keenly aware that litter on the roadways and in the landscape ends up in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean, Keep Virginia Beautiful was in attendance at the Summit.

On the second day of speakers, an interesting starting point for consideration was prompted by Steve Raabe, the founder and president of OpinionWorks. He presented findings from the 2022 Coastal Zone Management and Clean Virginia Waterways statewide survey asking, “What do Virginians Want?” A few interesting facts from the survey revealed that:

  •  87% of the people polled rated “Plastic floating in the ocean” as a very serious or somewhat serious problem
  •  75% considered plastics and toxins contaminating human food as very serious or somewhat serious.
  • Yet follow-up conversations with a representative group of participants indicated that people were surprised to learn that the plastic in the ocean was not a problem caused by commercial fisherman and others dumping plastics into the water, but was primarily a result of litter on the land that flows into storm drains, creeks, rivers, and other waters that lead to the ocean.

So as a plastic grocery bag flies out of a grocery cart, across the parking lot, into the street, and down the storm drain, it breaks down into tiny pieces, or microplastics.  The same is true of a single-use bottle of water that is carelessly left at a sporting event that can travel down ditches to nearby waterways, breaking down into microplastics.

Some people may not think that a plastic grocery bag here or a water bottle there are anything to worry about.  But the accumulative impact is huge.  The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a gyre (large system of circulating ocean currents and winds) the size of Texas, and is one of the five largest floating gyres in the oceans. Now that’s a big problem.

But there are things we can do as individuals.  We can stop using plastic straws, disposable grocery bags, plastic produce bags, bottled water, and many other SUPs (Single Use Plastics).  We can choose to purchase products wrapped in paper instead of film, and tell grocers how we feel about products that are unnecessarily wrapped in plastic.  We can encourage our local representatives to support legislation that has a positive impact for the environment.

And we can pick up litter.

October is “Lovers Not Litter” month in Virginia.  It’s free and easy to grab a bucket or reuse a bag to collect litter and recyclables from the roadways, waterways, and landscapes.  We can pick it up now, before it gets into the ocean.