Litter is not only unsightly, but it also causes a variety of problems to the ecosystem as it enters our streams, rivers, and bays. Much of the litter found in area cleanups is single-use plastic food and drink containers, but other types of litter include discarded food waste, tires, paper, and cardboard trash, and discarded fishing gear.
Litter has wide-ranging negative effects on the environment. While plastics never biodegrade, they slowly degrade into smaller and smaller pieces that can cause significant harm to fish and marine invertebrates that mistake it for food. Plastics along with old tires can also leach harmful chemicals into the water causing all sorts of negative effects. Tires and aluminum cans often provide habitat for disease-carrying mosquitoes.
The prevalence of these unnatural substances in the environment has a long-term detrimental effect on the ecosystems of the fresh water, estuaries, and oceans that we value.
Sources: Plastic Drink Bottles, Polystyrene Plastic, Food Wrappers, Discarded Food, Paper Napkins, Aluminum Cans, Plastic Utensils, Fishing Gear, Straws
In a rainy place like the Gulf coast, litter and plastic debris is easily washed into storm drains and from there into our streams, bay and Gulf. Making sure our trash gets into trash cans to be processed by city services, helps keep our water clean.
Foam cup litter can easily drift into storm drains and then into streams becoming ugly debris that is dangerous for marine creatures.
Food packaging litter gets washed into streams and the bay unless we are careful to place all litter in a covered trash ...
Carrying a reusable lunchbox not only saves money, but can help keep bags and wrapping paper from polluting our streams and bay.
Switching from EPS Foam containers and plastic utensils to reusable trays, cups, plates, and utensils can make a big difference.
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.
Plastic bags are often found in our waters when they blow away or are disposed of improperly. They remain there for generations to come as they slowly degrade into small pieces that are easily misconceived for food by fish and marine wildlife.
Getting out on the water is not only fun and great exercise, the more you use the water, the more likely it is you'll think about protecting it. So go ahead, go for a swim, get your fishing pole, take a boat for a ride, or attend a water festival near you.
Completing water quality monitoring training and adopting a site to regularly test, is a great way to help the community identify problems before they get out of control.
Volunteer, place-based grassroots groups are committed to creating a clean water future for their communities. Through water quality monitoring, education and outreach, and assessment.
Each plastic bottle will outlive you for centuries. When you can't avoid them, find a way to recycle them!
Recycling teaches positive behaviors that help keep plastic bottles and cans out of our waters.
The Trash Mob Dance is a simple dance that helps teach the importance of putting trash in a trash receptical and picking up trash you see on the ground.
Using reusable dish ware saves businesses money overtime, they use far less energy over their lifetime, and the chances of them polluting our waters is much lower than disposable counterparts.
Low Impact Development (LID) techniques imitate natural processes to help rainfall absorb into the ground instead of becoming stomwater runoff requiring culverts, pipes, and basins
Going green can be a daunting process for many small businesses. By creating a sustainability plan, your business can adopt changes over time and eventually see the results on the bottom line. Think of it as a strategic plan for sustainability.
Create a Clean Water Future has several engaging speakers who would be willing to come to your entire school, class, or club.
Encouraging and enabling customers to avoid plastic bags helps reducing the plastic debris we have to deal with and the chances it will end up in our waters.
EPS Foam from cups and to-go containers is one of the biggest sources of litter pollution in our streams and rivers, and that foam can cause damage for centuries.
Parking lots are impermeable surfaces that need to be cleaned regularly to decrease the stormwater runoff that carries litter, debris, sediment, and chemicals into storm drains.
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.