I was enraged while walking by the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz a couple of days ago. Why are there plastic bottles and bags floating on the river? Didn’t we clean this up a few weeks ago? Are people this inconsiderate?
Maybe we need to have big signs near beaches and rivers telling people how harmful it is for sea life and fresh water life when they dump things inconsiderately. Something like “When you dump trash in this river, you will poison or choke the animals in this area.” Maybe we should also have some other signs that read “The more plastic you acquire and dump, the more you have contributed to waste and pollution.”
There is way too much information on the internet for people to continue being ignorant about the way they dump waste. It is hard to change your habits, but everyone can change.
One thing that gets dumped ALOT are cigarette butts. Cigarette butts are found all over the place, I remember picking up a bunch while doing the Coastal Cleanup in September. Cigarette butts are not bio-degradeable. They pollute the soil, and the pollutants may leech into the river below, thereby contaminating the water so many animals live in. Ignorance regarding the effects of waste should not be taken lightly.
