Monday, August 20, 2012

Day 313 - August 19, 201


lifeguard tower 26 - Ocean Park, Santa Monica CA
trash collected for 20 min. 
7 pounds
1,181.8 pounds total 

5 cigarette butts



Fab with the specially made mesh bottom beach cleanup bag from Teresa of GREEN BAG LADY

Three dear friends joined me to clean the beach last night after an intensive workshop with Nancy Bevers over the weekend. I should have warned them that Sunday night's are usually the dirtiest of the week. But they were really into it, bringing back their collections in two extra plastic bags they found and put to use. 

COMMUNITY COUNT COLLECTION - DAY 119
Fab, Nancy and Elena 
trash collected for 20 min.
7 pounds
1,017.8 pounds total 

5 cigarette butts

THE DAILY OCEAN TOTAL POUNDS COLLECTED FROM BEACHES W0RLD-WIDE - 
2,193.6


I've decided to be repetitive. For days now, I've picked up one or several single-use plastic beverage bottles. I've come to expect them. Summer brings people to the beach, and with people come their habits. Every time I find a plastic bottle on a cleanup, I'm going to post it. Sure, we both may get tired of looking at empty water bottles lying in different configurations on the sand, but that illustrates my point perfectly. 


Like I mentioned earlier, Sunday produces a big trash haul during the summer months. While collecting trash near one woman, she shook her head at me with a sympathetic look. 
"You're thinking, what a mission, right?" I said. 
"More people should be doing what you are doing," she said.
"My hope is that it is contagious." I smiled, laughed a little and kept at it. 



We see one another all the time, on the beach walking during sunset, at the grocery store, in traffic. All of these sightings make an impression on us. How can we use our visibility in service of something greater? How can we take these day-to-day activities and infuse them with a spark?