GreenStreet LI Home | Beauty and the Beach




Beauty and the Beach
2010-00-28 


Long Islanders love their beaches, but according to experts, 
70% of marine pollution comes from land, so we need to adopt more eco-friendly habits if we hope to continue enjoying them. The pollutants in our waterways include trash that inadvertently blows from our beach blankets (in higher quantities than you might think) as well as street runoff that washes into bays and canals when heavy rains max out sewage treatment plants.

GOOD:
Defend against the wind—not just your skin, but the sand too. If something is light enough to blow away—plastic bags, paper plates, caps, cards—leave it home or secure it in a zippered bag so it doesn’t end up in the ocean.

BETTER:
Don’t dump chemicals at the curb. Take motor oil, latex paint and other toxic cleaners and dispose of them through an official recycling program. 

BEST:
Protect our beaches and inland areas—don’t walk on the dunes. It kills beach grass and other plant life that holds sand in place. Without these natural barriers, dunes face wind erosion, allowing floodwaters to head inland, causing destruction
on the beach and on land.
At the beach, toss cigarette butts in trash cans, not in the water. Filters are made from plastics and are not biodegradable.

For conditions at your favorite beach, check the EPA’s Beach Advisory and Closing Notification system at www.epa.gov. 


One Simple Thing:
For packing canned drinks for the beach, remove the plastic
six-pack holders at home so fish, seals and sea turtles don’t get tangled up in the loops. The same goes for balloons, kites and plastic bags that blow into the ocean.



Bookmark and Share

GreenStreetLI.com is written and produced by Newsday Community Affairs, and does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday. Some of the content is provided by the advertisers.