So far, Podolsky's data indicates 

 the nests reflect the amount of 

 debris floating into the area. 



"There's more of it out there than 

 we've all seen," Podolsky says. "It 

 can have a long-term effect on the 

 population." 



The same thing can happen to 

 fish, sea turtles, Northern fur seals, 

 dolphins, whales, sea lions and 

 other marine animals. 



Incidents of plastic ingestion and 

 entanglement are widespread. Yet 

 data is sketchy because most of 

 these animals move from place to 

 place. 



Keeping count of the trash is 

 easier. 



Scientific studies provide a win- 

 dow to the world of waste. And 

 beach cleanups like North Caro- 

 lina's Beach Sweep have become 

 part of a national effort to pinpoint 

 types and sources of marine debris 

 in the United States. 



Last fall during beach cleanups 

 in 25 states and territories, 47,500 

 volunteers picked up 976 tons of 

 trash. And they recorded each 

 piece on data cards from the 

 Center for Marine Conservation. 

 The results comprised the first Na- 

 tional Marine Debris Database. 



So far, 65 percent of the items 

 counted were plastic. Eleven per- 

 cent were metal; 10 percent, paper; 

 and 9 percent, glass. 



Foam plastic pieces topped the 

 list. Plastic pieces, plastic cups and 

 utensils, metal beverage cans and 

 foam plastic cups followed. 



Not all the trash can be catego- 

 rized by source, says CMC's Kathy 

 O'Hara. But of the items identified 

 most were galley-type wastes from 

 boats and cargo ships. Fishing and 

 boating gear came in second. 



Less than 1 percent of the items 

 found were medical wastes. 



But that was enough to keep 



thousands of vacationers away 

 from New York and New Jersey 

 beaches last summer. 



In Long Island, 18 percent fewer 

 people basked at the beach, result- 

 ing in a $921 million loss in tourism 

 revenues, reports Kathryn Wagner 

 of the Office of Technology Assess- 

 ment in Washington, DC 



New Jersey beaches saw an 8 to 

 34 percent decrease in attendance 

 and a $745 million decrease in 

 revenues, Wagner adds. Lost tour- 

 ism and the increased costs of 

 monitoring the beach hit hard. 



The looming threat of medical 

 debris and marine litter raises hairs 

 in other coastal communities, too. 

 And rightly so, Wagner says. With- 

 out change, an economic impact on 

 vessels and shorelines is evident. 



Implementation of Annex V of the 

 MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Treaty 

 should help. The ocean dumping 

 law that went into effect last 

 December prohibits the disposal of 

 all plastics in the ocean and re- 

 quires vessels to take such trash 

 back to port. 



The U.S. Navy is doing its part, 

 too. By April, it reported a 70 percent 

 decrease in plastics going to sea. 



Teachers, port authorities, envi- 

 ronmental groups, commercial 

 fishermen, federal and state gov- 

 ernments and others are joining the 

 forces. 



Even the plastics industry is 

 cleaning up its act. 



Companies are pouring millions 

 into new technologies for degrad- 

 able plastics and recycling. And 

 the Society for the Plastics Industry, 

 Inc., a national trade association, is 

 working with CMC to educate the 

 industry and the public about prob- 

 lems associated with marine debris. 



Worldwide, such efforts will make 

 the difference. And that's good 

 news— no matter how you say it. 



TURNING 



TRASH 



AROUND 



By Kathy Hart 



Let's face it, America. We're a 

 throwaway society. 



In a wealthy nation rich in goods, 

 almost everything is made to be 

 disposable— diapers, paper plates, 

 plastic cups, razors, lighters, cans, 

 even contact lenses. 



Use something once, maybe twice, 

 and it's garbage. Plunk it in the 

 trash can and push it out by the 

 curb. Or, the less conscientious toss 

 it out the window, drop it overboard 

 or leave it behind. 



Rep. John D. Dingell, chairman 

 of the U.S. House Energy and 

 Commerce Committee, says, "The 

 age of disposables, from diapers to 

 fast-food packaging, is leaving our 

 communities awash in a sea of 

 garbage." 



In last year's beach cleanup of 

 the Tar Heel coast, volunteers 

 picked up thousands of dispos- 

 ables— 8,346 soft drink bottles, 

 1,068 fast food containers, 11,238 

 beverage cans and 2,471 paper 

 cups. 



And North Carolina's beach 

 cleanup totals are just the tip of an 

 iceberg that may sink this nation in 

 its own refuse. Consider these facts 

 from the Environmental Defense 

 Fund: 



• Each American produces half a 

 ton of garbage a year. 



• Americans go through 2.5 million 

 plastic bottles every hour. 



• We trash enough office and 



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