Created by the MBNEP and the Coastal Conservation Corps, the 'Trash Mob' utilizes the pop-culture phenomenon of a "flash mob" to raise awareness and encourage behavioral change toward reducing littering and Creating a Clean Water Future. Participants meet in crowded spaces and perform a 'spontaneous' dance to a catchy song, "Pick Up the Trash", with an anti-littering message.
While it's difficult to say exactly how much plastic is in the ocean, scientists think about 8 million metric tons of plastic trash are in our oceans. This plastic pollution makes our waters unsafe and unsightly (NOAA. 2017)
Plastic Recovered from Dauphin Island Beach by Caitlin Wessel
Despite years of industry regulations, litter ordinances, and educational advancements, our area's waters continues to be threatened by a variety of pollutants. While no single government, business, or organization keep our waters clean, together, as we all do our part, we can create a clean water future.
When it rains, litter is washed into storm drains and into our creeks, rivers, and bays.
The Trash Mob is performed to the song Pick Up The Trash. Download it today so you can practice the Trash Mob wherever you are!
Watch the tutorial to find out how to do the Trash Mob.
Download the Pick up the Trash song to do the dance.
Community cleanups are a social, hands-on way that teens can help cleanup the litter and debris that gets washed down storm drains and into our waterways where it can pollute the water and injure marine creatures.
Recycling teaches positive behaviors that help keep plastic bottles and cans out of our waters.
Create a Clean Water Future has several engaging speakers who would be willing to come to your entire school, class, or club.
When water rushes off hardened surfaces, erosion of sediments degrade water conditions and smother and disrupt seagrass growth and the habitat for benthic organisms they provide.
Compounds like oil, grease, and heavy metals take a long time to break down and threaten the health of both aquatic and human life.
Litter is not only unsightly, but it also causes a variety of problems to the ecosystem as it enters our waters where it is often is mistaken for food by fish and invertebrates.
Too much fertilizer, pet waste, and other nutrients in our water often lead to serious problems like lowering dissolved oxygen levels, preventing seagrass growth, and killing fish.
Disease-causing microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and other single-celled organisms, are referred to as pathogens, some, like Salmonella, cause human health problems.
While pesticides are designed to be toxic to certain organisms, they can often be harmful and kill other species in the marine system that are important for the entire ecosystem.