For residents of South Florida, returning students and snowbirds, the beach is a fun and peaceful gateway that allows them to soak up some much-needed sunshine. Their experience can be quickly ruined though when instead of colorful sea shells the sand is covered in broken glass from beer bottles and remnants of plastic grocery bags. At some point, the beach they know and love has become less like the front of a brochure and more like a dumpster.
Dr. Christina Batoh, the assistant biology teacher at Palm Beach Atlantic University, says the severity of beach litter has grown worse over the years. She is concerned that the increase of beach litter will disrupt the ocean's complex ecosystem.
“It’s very detrimental to the lives of sea turtles, manatees, whales, dolphins, sharks, all of that,” Batoh said.
The plastics and waste that humans constantly litter along beaches and in oceans turn into what are known as microplastics. These microplastics have been found in many animals such as fishes, sea turtles, seabirds, and more. The microplastics are often broken down by the ocean waves and can end up harming humans, even though many don’t realize how this issue can ultimately impact the human population. Batoh says that these microplastics “work their way up the food chain,” leading to human food.
Batoh explained how once small pieces of plastic from straws or bottle caps end up in sea turtles' stomachs, they cannot be digested. The turtles are then unable to eat their normal nutrient-rich diet because they simply don't have enough room left in their digestive tract. The turtles then die a slow and agonizing death due to starvation. Other animals like whales and seabirds have been found with concerning amounts of plastic in their systems, which rips apart their internal organs.
The volume of litter in the oceans increases every year and continues to impact animals of all types. The Pacific Garbage Patch is a large patch of pure ocean litter that floats throughout the Pacific. Every day it grows larger, and though many animals are resilient and have learned to live around it, the impact can be devastating.
Several different types of plastics end up in the ocean. Biomedical supplies such as vaccine syringes and construction materials are among the most prevalent types of debris found on beaches, according to Rebecca Nacy, a senior zoology major at PBA..
“I think on a larger scale, when plastic pollution or any sort of oceanic pollution affects animals, it affects the whole ecosystem which might affect the whole food chain,” Nacy said.
Nacy believes because of the rise in consumerism, the world has drastically increased its production for the modern world's new trends. Major companies have mass-produced fast fashion and microtrends that ultimately end up as landfills and litter on the beaches. A micro trend is a small, fast, and timely trend that focuses on a specific area or interest for the population. Things like the Taylor Swift era costumes and the Barbie movie outfits are examples of microtrends and fast fashion. People partake in these trends for the time that they are popular, then end up throwing away the clothes which, in turn, end up as a landfill. There is a negative outlook on the issue of oceanic and beach litter because it is a factor that contributes to the larger issue of climate change.
There are many things the population can do to help this growing issue. Every year, Dr. Batoh tries to motivate students to take part in the beach clean-up. She hosts an event called Plogging, Plogging is a mix of jogging and picking up litter. found along the jog. The term was named after the activity of picking up trash and running that originated in Sweden. She also encourages students to always pick up trash and deposit in buckets that are left on beaches by Palm Beach County.
Nacy mentions another way for students to start combating pollution is to join the PBA science club. The club often does local clean-ups at the intercoastal’s mangroves; it is great for Workship opportunities.
“We're going to start seeing severe effects and then hopefully people will start to listen,” Nacy said.
By Ashley Smith
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