Small Changes Help Keep Our Beaches Clean

For those of us who live and work in San Diego, we know that summer draws large crowds of people from all over the world to our shoreline. While the increased crowds are fantastic for local businesses, it does put an added stress on keeping our most precious asset clean. As locals, we should care about keeping our beaches clean and be aware of different ways we can help.

Why is it important to keep our beaches clean? There is over 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans, and over 269,000 tons of debris roam the surface and kill more than 200,000 members of the marine life a year. And these numbers are rising.

With small changes to your every day life, you too can help keep the beaches of San Diego clean.

Stop Using Plastic Bags

The best you can do is store your snacks and food items in reusable bags or containers. It is a perfect prevention method and you still get to enjoy those chips and chocolates you love so much.

Get Involved in a Beach Clean Up

Keeping our beaches clean extends beyond your day at the beach, although that’s a great place to start. If you want to help out even more, there are numerous organizations in San Diego, such as Surfrider, that organize and put on tons of beach cleanups all year round. But you don’t have to wait for an organized event. Make a habit of cleaning up when you’re at the beach, or you can adopt a beach with a group of friends and make it an ongoing project.

Make Small Changes

Small details matter a lot here. Instead of carrying a plastic water bottle with you down to the beach, get a reusable water bottle and keep it with your throughout the whole summer.

Take Care of Your Pets

Every dog owner loves to take their pup to the beach. And that’s great, nothing beats a puppy in the ocean! However, remember to pick any little gifts that they leave behind.

Encourage Others to Do the Same

Gently encouraging your friends to end their littering is one way to spread the word about beach cleanliness. If your buddies know that you don’t think it’s cool to leave trash behind, they’ll be less likely to do it. Keeping our beaches is the cool (and the right) thing to do, so don’t be shy about speaking up when you see someone walking away from their mess.

We hope you consider these simple steps next time you’re down enjoying the shore. If everybody does their part to keep our beautiful surroundings clean, it would make a world of difference to the marine life that lives in the waters near our home.