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15 EPA J. 23 (1989)
Beaches

handle is hein.journals/epajrnl15 and id is 235 raw text is: The Coastal Environment Beaches by Kathryn O'Hara S Z II °.) Hundreds of 30- and 55-gallon drums wash ashore on the Texas coastline annually. About 20 percent contain hazardous substances or their residue. e The National Beach Cleanup showed how citizens, businesses, industry, and government agencies-often in conflict on coastal issues--can work together to protect coastal areas. National Beach Cleanup volunteers found a total of 1,973,995 debris items, including nearly everything imaginable-from bedsprings and boats to mattresses, munitions, and several kitchen sinks. They even found 11 bottles with notes inside, including one found in Connecticut with a note from an author in France. Plastics were by far the single most abundant type of litter; approximately 62 percent of the debris collected was plastic, far surpassing the items made of glass, metal, paper, wood, rubber, and cloth. The predominance of plastic is not surprising, not only because of its increasing use but also because it is so lightweight and buoyant that it is easily carried ashore by the currents. Equally important, plastic is made to be durable; so it has the potential to last much S longer than other materials in the marine environment. Over two-thirds of the 12 most commonly found types of debris recorded by the beach clean-up volunteers were plastic. The 12 most common items-the Dirty Dozen of 1988-included: The volunteers found a total of 1,973,995 debris items including nearly everything imaginable .... (O'Hara is Director of the Center for Marine Conservation's Marine Debris and Entanglement Program.) O ther articles in this issue of EPA journal focus on the problems created by the influx of people and development along our nation's coastal areas. This article describes another kind of influx-thousands of citizens flocking to the beaches to participate in a National Beach Cleanup during the fall of 1988. Some 47,500 volunteers participated in the cleanup. Here's what they accomplished: * More than 3,500 miles of shoreline in 25 states and U.S. territories were at least temporarily rid of nearly two million pounds of beach debris. 0 Detailed information on the types and quantities of debris items found was gathered on Beach Clean-up Data Cards, then compiled and analyzed to assist in development of permanent solutions to our nation's marine debris problem. * 134,685 plastic fragments of larger objects * 125,725 small foamed plastic (styrofoam-like) pieces * 112,465 plastic eating utensils-cups, spoons, forks and straws * 99,847 metal beverage cans * 95,807 foamed plastic (styrofoam-like) cups * 95,028 glass beverage bottles 0 90,998 plastic caps and lids * 85,864 pieces of large paper items 0 78,025 plastic trash bags 0 74,672 miscellaneous types of plastic bags 0 65,819 glass pieces * 58,116 plastic soda bottles. If just these items were eliminated, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1989

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