Keeping Beaches Clean for the Fourth
KCBS
06/27/2010
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Efforts are underway to make sure revelers have a safe, sane and clean July 4th celebration this year.
Thousands of pounds of trash are left on Bay Area beaches during the Independence Day holiday, which is not only unsightly, but also a danger to sea animals.
”There’s a lot of documentation about birds and sea creatures feeding bits of trash to their young, which is tragic,” said Linda Sheehan, Executive Director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance. “When it gets very small, it’s almost indistinguishable from other types of life in the sea that they might want to feed to their young.”
Sheehan said trash on beaches can also carry bacteria and make humans sick. So she recommends making things easy on yourself when you head for the shoreline.
” Why have to remember to pick up your trash if you don’t have to? Why not pack your lunch in a plastic container with a lid?” Sheehan said. “Or a glass container with some type of lid. Don’t pack it in a plastic Ziploc bag, don’t wrap it in a plastic bag from the store. Put it in something you’re not going to throw away because you actually paid some money for it.”
