Museum of Litter

The 22nd Challenge

On Earth Day 2010, I remember someone making a comment about the hype of Earth Day. His point was everyone seemed to feel they were doing so much if they attended a one-day-a-year Earth Day event. He said we should be pitching in on a regular basis (I agree). As Earth Day is always celebrated on the 22nd, he suggested using the 22nd each month to do something special. I LIKE that idea! Also the number 22 has special significance to me -- it's my birthday. So, whoever you are*, thank you for that great idea. I'm running with it. I'm issuing:
 
 The Monthly 22nd Challenge
Using the 22nd as a reminder, what can we each do? Look around as you go through your day. Are there 22 pieces of litter you can pick up? Can you pick up everything in a 22 foot radius? Can you pick up litter for 22 minutes or even 22 seconds?
 
These are the first 22 pieces of litter I saw this morning. It took me a little more than 22 seconds, but not much -- probably 2 or 3 minutes at the most. Some of the pieces are very small pieces of plastic or cigarette butts. They are what I consider the worst... so small that they are easily ingested but not digested by wildlife causing birds, fish and turtles to die. This may not be a lot picked up, but every single piece is important.

Every litter bit hurts. Every little bit helps.
 
I'd love to hear from you. Let's start a conversation about litter to make those who are unaware more conscious. Please share your ideas and experience. *LIKE* us on Facebook.  If you take photos I invite you to post them on Facebook's Museum of Litter page.

If you're on Twitter, follow @MuseumofLitter. Together we can #twitterlittteraway.
 
* I wish I'd remember who's idea using the 22nd was so I could give credit. If it was you or you know who it was, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!
 
 

Cuban Toothpaste safely reaches dry land on Florida beach

A toothpaste tube,  believed to have floated from Cuba, landed safely in Lauderdale by the Sea, Florida, in late July.

Julio Omaña, a Lauderdale by the Sea resident, walking with his wife Joan, spotted the plastic litter along the shore. It was discovered on dry land above the high tide line. Under the Wet Foot-Dry Foot policy, it will be allowed to remain in the United States.

Mr. Omaña turned it over to the Museum of Litter for documentation. The toothpaste, going by the name of Perla,  mint flavored, is manufactured in Cuba by Suchel. It was identified by the markings: "fabricado en cuba por Suchel."

It will be housed in the museum's "Personal Hygiene & Cosmetics Collection" where it joins toothbrushes, tooth flossers,  lipsticks, lip balms,  hair curlers, and an eyelash curler.

Polar Bear spotted on Florida beach

Global Warming? No..........just more plastic litter.

BP Oil Spill, Day 49 -- Happy World Ocean Day

Today we celebrate World Ocean Day. How timely.

With everyone feeling helpless regarding the Gulf Oil Spill, today is a good day to ask, what CAN I do to make a difference?

 

I started the day with an hour coastal cleanup at my Florida beach. I figure if I pick up litter, especially at the tide line, it will be prevented from joining the Atlantic Garbage patch and I'll be able to protect fish, turtles and birds that mistake it for food.

 

What can YOU do? What WILL you do?

If you live near the ocean can you pick up litter along the shore to prevent it from going into the Atlantic or Pacific Garbage Patch? Can you clean up a river or lake? Can you be more mindful, just for today, of refusing single use fast food containers? Can you bring your own coffee mug?  Your own reusable water bottle?

Even if you live nowhere near the ocean, we can all volunteer, donate, contribute in some way. Even a conversation. Bringing up World Ocean Day may just be the thing to motivate someone else to take action.

This is not an Obama problem or a BP problem. It's not even a national problem. It's an international, planetary problem. We are ALL in this together.

As the oil spill crisis continues to cloud our Gulf waters, do you think we can find the silver lining? Can we use this tragedy to come together as a global eco-community to preserve and protect the environment and ocean we all share?

Sunrise Litter pickup May 23, 2010, at beach in LBTS, FL

 

This morning I was happy to meet Scott, Jill and Zoey Zigler who were out  picking up litter at sunrise on the beach just south of Anglin's Pier. Nice family. Between the Zigler family and me we had picked up 11 bags of litter (on this relatively clean beach), that fortunately will never make it to the Atlantic Garbage  Patch. You can see there are lots of plastic water bottles. Luckily, Lauderdale by the Sea, which is fast becoming known as ECO, has recycling containers at most of the beach portals. So, everything that could be recycled was recycled. Thank you Scott, Jill and Zoey for making a difference!

Museum of Litter in the News

There was a great article about us today by Don Crinklaw in the Fort Lauderdale SunSentinel -- in the East Side Forum (pg 11) and the Eastsider (pg 6). Here's a link to a readable copy of the article:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-esb-litter-0128-20100128,0,7058162.story

The Dolphin & Starbucks Litter

On Naples (FL) beach watched a dolphin frolic in the Gulf waters. The beach was relatively clean but couldn't help but notice the clear plastic Starbucks cup. We need to keep the litter off the beach and out of the water if we want to protect these beautiful creatures from ourselves.

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.

 

  

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.