Museum of Litter

BLOCK ISLAND, RI - June 23, 2012

Twenty minute walk on the beach on the north end of the island near North Light adjacent to Sachem Pond and Block Island National Wildlife Refuge.

I may be on vacation, but there's never a vacation from litter. Picked up one bag full in about 20 minutes. A beer can, water bottle, several bottle caps. Mostly it's a clean beach.

Met these great kids who picks up little all the time. Way to go! They are going to email me their names so I can identify them and add them to the museum's Pinterest, Planetary Pickers board.

 

Purple Sea Turtle Rescued on Outer Banks coast

I'm on vacation in Outer Banks NC. Heading out for a morning beach cleanup in Kill Devil Hills, behind the Days Inn, I was told the beach was really clean and there didn't seem to be any litter. That was great news, but I went anyway and I'm glad I did. Two hands and 45 minutes later:

I picked up a number of objects that looked like hard black rubber.

 I would have sworn they were plastic but was told by a fisherman they're hatched Stingray egg sacks. I'd never seen one before so this was an interesting discovery. I was happy to find out they were natural, so back they went to the elements.

In addition to the numerous cigarette butts, I rescued a few straws, 2 balloons (one rubber and one mylar) a used sanitary napkin (I'll spare you the 

picture) and a Sea Turtle from the Atlantic Garbage Patch.

Fishermen: Don't Litter your Line!

Lars Skroder, Turtle Saver, was in the right place, at the right time, to save this turtle from littered fishing line. Read his story of the rescue:

Left, Lars Skroder; Center, Kevin

"Here is the Green Sea Turtle that myself, Lars, and my Caymanian friend Kevin saved out in the North Sound of Grand Cayman back in the late 90's. 

We were out in my friends small boat for a trip out to Sting Ray City. On the way back I noticed something popping up next to one of the bouys on our way back in. As we got closer we noticed that it was a turtle head popping up for air every 30 seconds or so. 

I put on a snorkel, mask and flippers and swam over to the turtle & bouy. Sure enough the poor turtle was tangled in discarded fishing line that had collected on the anchor rope of the bouy. 

At first the turtle was nervous, but realized I wanted to help so he/she stayed calm as I cut the fishing from its flipper. My friend Kevin used all his strength to lift the turtle from its shell as I pushed from below, kicking my flippers as hard as I could to get him/her in the boat. We took the turtle in as it's flipper had almost been completely severed by the fishing line it was tangled in. 

A man from the environmental protection department came out to meet us and take the lucky Green Sea Turtle to the Turtle Farm where he/she was rehabbed back to health. Although I believe the turtle can only swim in circles now.

So, to all Fishermen, don't litter your line!"

Thanks for the Home Depot plastic bucket litter donation!

This beach cleanup was done in about a half hour along the shore line.

Where does this litter come from? One of three places. It was left by a local or a tourist visiting Lauderdale by the Sea, FL or it washed up to shore as discarded debris from someones boat.

Where it came from, there is a window of opportunity when it reaches the shore to prevent it from entering or reintering the ocean and becoming part of the swirling Atlantic Garbage Patch.

In addition to a Smartwater bottle, assorted plastic water bottles, a Gatorade bottle, single-use plastic bags and other assorted fast-food wrapper litter, we found a Home Depot plastic bucket. I guess someone had a DIY project and just left their bucket at the beach when they were done. Home Depot thanks you for the advertising and Ithe Museum of Litter thanks you for the bucket.

Using this bucket plus our grabber enables us to be green in our litter removal (no plastic bags)! Thanks for your donation, anonymous litterer, ..... we appreciate it and will put it to good use!

If fish were transparent:

 

If fish were transparent you'd see how much plastic litter they eat (before they die). This beach litter was rescued from the shoreline in Lauderdale by the Sea, Fl before it could join the debris entering the Altantic Garbage Patch.