| | | |
| | |
A LITTER CHRISTMAS TREE reminds us we share One World - Elaine Devine
This may not be the most unique or unusual Christmas tree, but it's got to be one of the greenest. All decorations are 100% local litter temporarily up-cycled into ornaments.
Thanks to all the adventurous spirits who attended our Litter Tree-trimming party -- it was the most fun I've ever had trimming a tree -- litterally!
There was lots of joy and laughter as we marveled at the nonsensical things that end up littering the beach as well as conversations about whether these items were left behind, lost by boaters or dumped by cruise ships.
The creativity shown was amazing; from using a child's sun-hat as a tree topper to the intriguing vignettes made from various litter combinations.
Thanks for letting us share our Litter tree with you. We hope it brought some whimsy into your day. Please share with family & friends to spread the word about a litter-free environment.
| | | |
| | |
We're having a Tree-Trimming party -- decorating with litter, of course!
A tree-trimming party is being held for the Museum of Litter at Frame 'n Art Gallery, Saturday, Dec. 19 from 2 to 5pm (See details below). The litter laden tree will be the frame shop's window display during the rest of the holiday season.
Everyone is encouraged to BYOL (Bring Your Own Litter) or choose from litter provided by the museum from their large inventory of (sanitized) litter collections. See a small sampling below:
This event is being held to keep the conversation about litter going until we are litter-free.
The Museum's litter-art will be displayed.
Refreshments will be served. It will be a fun family event. We'll celebrate the season, our love of a clean environment and a tree tradition with a twist.
TREE-TRIMMING: Where & When:
Frame 'n Art Gallery, 235 Commercial Boulevard, Suite 106, Lauderdale by the Sea, FL 33308, 954-267-9202, Saturday, December 19th 2-5pm.
| | | |
| | |
Plastic Free Fridays in Memory of X310
X 310
Born on Pihemanu, Midway Atoll March 2008.
Died in June 2008.
Like many albatrosses, X310 was fed plastics by her parents, because parent birds are increasingly unable to tell real food from the endless stream of bottle caps, markets, lighters, toothbrushes, and other plastic in the ocean. An estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic float in every square mile of ocean, making it tougher for the birds to find flying fish eggs and squid, their natural diet.
You can help by choosing to be plastic free this and every Friday. Choose not to buy foods wrapped in plastic, toys make of plastic, computers, pens and especially bottles with detachable plastic caps.
THANK YOU FOR GOING PLASTIC FREE FRIDAYS
Project SOAR http://soaronhirschi.blogspot.com/
| | | |
| | |
Cigarette Butt Litter Donation, Dec. 7, Fort Lauderdale, FL
The woman in the yellow convertible was spotted pitching a cigarette butt from her car while waiting in traffic for the bridge to go down. This occurred Monday, December 7 around 4:30 in the afternoon on Commercial Boulevard, just east of the Intracoastal Bridge.
| | | |
| | |
Why do you Litter?
"Why do you litter?" I asked, from across the table.
A few minutes before, I was about to enter a restaurant, with two others, when one in our party, a relative I'll just call Paul, pitched the remains of his cigarette to the curb. I laughed, saying, "Sorry, I'll have to give you one of these," as I handed him a 'Thank You for Your Donation' card from the Museum of Litter.
As we were seated waiting for the waitress, Paul looked over the card which, on the back, informs a litterer how long it takes commonly littered items to decompose.
I asked Paul, "Can I ask you why you litter? When I see people litter, I always wonder what they're thinking. I'd really like to know."
"To tell you the truth," he volunteered, " I don't really litter. I keep everything in my van and throw it out once a week. I only toss cigarette butts. I'll tell you why. It probably sounds strange coming from someone who likes to smoke, but the butts stink and I don't want to smell up my van."
I told Paul I could understand his reasoning and offered my mother's solution. In her car, she put out her cigarettes in a plastic cup filled with baking soda. That eliminated odor in her car until she could throw the butts out in a trash can.
We talked a little more about where cigarette butts end up, in the storm drains, the water supply, the ocean, ingested by fish, fowl and turtles. Paul knew the filters contained plastic but had never thought about what happened to the butts once they left his hand. He freely admitted, "I guess it's really selfish of me just being concerned about myself and the smell in my van."
That didn't stop Paul from littering a couple of more times in my presence. He's been smoking since he was nine so the habit is automatic. However, he did it with a self conscious laugh that shows at least he's catching himself thinking about it. It's Paul's choice, but at least now he'll make it consciously.
Thank you, Paul, for having that honest conversation about littering. If more of us could have that conversation we could quickly find a way that would work for smokers and the environment.
| | | |
| | |
It's the Little Things that Count
You've heard that a thousand times. It's just as true with litter.
Here in Lauderdale by the Sea, FL people say, "We have a clean beach." And basically, we do. If you look up and down the beach usually you'll see just natural, pristine, beauty. However, if you look close, especially at the tidelines in the seaweed, you'll see a lot of small bits of (mostly) plastic...bottle caps, lighters, straws, fast-food drinking cups... the list goes on & on. These things are almost invisible when you glance down the beach. Yet, that is the very thing that makes them so deadly -- that they are so small. Small enough to look like food. Small enough for your fine feathered & finned friends to eat and feed their young and then die because they can't digest our detritus.
Until litter prevention is the norm, if you'd like to help, consider taking a plastic bag with you and spending a few minutes picking up litter you encounter in your daily travels.
| | | |
| | |
| | | |
| | |
Is a Cigar Butt Litter?
The Museum of Litter was part of the local Art & Craft Show last weekend in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. As I stood in front of our booth I saw a man pitch the remnants of his cigar into a mulched area of landscaped greenery. I caught up with him, thanked him, and handed him one of the museum's 'thank you for your donation' cards. He watched me as I walked to the cigar, extinguished it with my shoe and took the butt back to my booth.
A few minutes later he approached briskly informing me, "First of all I probably do as much as anyone for the environment! I am out there on the water picking up trash all the time." "That's great!" I told him. "Second of all," he continued, "a cigar has no filter. It's wrapped only in a natural tobacco leaf. It is not litter. So," he said pushing the card at me while turning to leave, "you can have this back." And he was gone.
Obviously he didn't want to have a discussion. He strongly believes his spent cigar is not litter. He does bring up a good point. I appreciate and agree that something biodegradable(cigars, apple cores) shouldn't end up in a plastic lined garbage can that will delay the organic substance to return to the earth. Yet. it seems to me an eyesore in the shrubbery is still litter.
It brings up a lot of questions. Does he think cigar butts can be throw down anywhere outside or only on the ground. Would he throw it on the beach? What about birds and other creatures ingesting it? Are there any chemicals in the tobacco? Could the lit end create fire in the mulch or a wooded area? Does it give others a bad example and an excuse to also litter? I'm sure you can think of even more questions.
I mentioned this encounter to an environmental friend who unbeknown to me is a cigar aficionado. He said when he's outside and unable to dispose of a cigar properly he removes the paper ring then tears the cigar into tiny bits to aid in it's decomposition and make it invisible.
So, what's the answer? Is a cigar butt litter? Does it belong in sight while decomposing? What is the proper way to dispose of a cigar? What do you think? Would love your comments, please.
| | | |
| | |
Litter Donations -- July 28, 2009 -- Lauderdale by the Sea, FL
This bag of litter was collected this morning just along the shoreline in about 1/2 hour. The area covered was from Anglin's Pier south to the next portal at Datura Ave.
| | | |
| | |
