No point in blaming one group, such as tourists, for our trashy beaches because they are always trashy. Still we get a lot more trash in the summer. The way humans consume these days it is inevitable that more people = more trash.

I filled two plastic drink bottles full of little bits of plastic and trashy refuge. Then I found some larger pieces, a blue hanger(in perfectly good shape by the way) and a lonely bucket.  Below is a photo of the trash I found on South Oceanside beach this past Sunday the 22nd.

There were hundreds of people on that beach which means that several other people could have picked up trash. I could have picked up more, but it is overwhelming to constantly spend my free time picking up litter and seeing other peoplw who just don’t bother to care.

So I splurged on a smoothie for breakfast yesterday.  Since I was not in a hurry and would not be running to work, I asked them to leave off the lid and straw.  Just a block from the office I found a straw and lid(looked like Starbucks) in the gutter. Disgusted as usual, I picked it up and walked a whole half a block to a trash can and tossed it in.

So it’s amazingly easy to reduce our trash. We just have to make conscious decisions.