Topless Beaches

THE QUEST FOR TOPLESS BEACHES

So, nobody guessed it. The answer to what litters the beaches more than any one trashy item.  To my great disappointment the prize went uncollected.

The beach is my all time favorite place to be, so it is easy for me to spend literally hours walking everyday.  To give my addiction more credence, I began taking a trash bag with me to the beach everyday and picking up whatever I found that wouldn’t naturally be found on a desert island in paradise!

I found five GI Joe figures on the day I received notice of my Canadian citizenship (which I found interesting), a green parachutist, numerous light sticks in various colors, enough tooth brushes to treat a shark with gingivitis, a plastic magnetic “L”, miniature conch shells, balloons tied with ribbon, lip balm, sunscreen, beer cans, plastic tampon applicator, a tube of toothpaste, towels, shirts and of course, tops, caps and lids.

It never occurred to me how many “tops” I have in my own possession…Verdae sells lotion, lip balm, sprays, butters and balms and each of these items comes equipped with a lid.  Plus if you start looking around your own house you’ll soon count into the hundreds of caps under your own roof.   Water bottles, coffee cups, deodorant, mustard and ketchup, milk, glue, vinegar, sunscreen, salad dressings, whipped cream, rubber in a can, hairspray; the list is endless.

It “appears” that 90% of the tops on the beach have washed ashore.  They typically float, are very light and are carried onto the beach quite well by the smallest of waves.  Party going boats, cruise ships, barges, military vessels, charters, dive boats all contribute to the trash.

If you look at the photo to the right you’ll see a collection of tops, lids, and caps that I collected in about 15 minutes on the beach in Florida.  There is absolutely no shortage of every kind of closure you can imagine and many that I had never seen before.

In NC the haul is shockingly less prolific and yet has the same percentage of caps lids and tops.  Even on the Outer Banks closures are the most prevalent type of garbage on the beach. Haven’t found any tooth brushes yet, a favorite staple of the beach in Florida. Mostly what you find on the beach in the OBX is driftwood, firewood remnants, broken and battered shells, the occasional whole shell, ghost crabs and piping plovers (thanks to the park service).

The next time you’re on the beach try doing your own study of beach trash while reducing the amount of garbage in nature.  With a concerted effort we could definitely increase the numbers of “topless beaches”.