How To Save Our Beaches: Actionable Steps To Take Today

Beaches are essential natural features, comprising distinct zones such as the backshore, foreshore, and shoreface. They serve vital roles in coastal disaster defense, habitat provision, and tourism. Despite their significance, many coastal nations prioritize beach preservation and enhancement due to their scenic appeal and ecosystem services, including recreational opportunities and wildlife habitats. Nevertheless, the expansive sandy beaches that make up a significant portion of the global coastline face multifaceted threats, stemming from meteorological, geological, and human-induced factors. 

These valuable assets are polluted by chemicals, runoff, and physical waste like microplastics.  Additionally, the global scarcity of sand further exacerbates these challenges. Despite their immense socio-economic benefits, beaches often do not receive the recognition and appreciation they deserve. But, there are ways, some of which are quite simple, to improve one’s local beaches and have an impact around the world.

Types of Beach Pollution

Beach pollution occurs because of the human activities that cause plastic pollution and beach erosion. Beach pollution encompasses a wide array of harmful substances, ranging from visible litter and garbage to less conspicuous pollutants like sewage, pesticides, and oil. Here are some different forms of beach pollution:

Human Induced Pollution

Human-induced pollution refers to environmental contamination and degradation resulting from activities and behaviors of human beings. This type of pollution is characterized by the introduction of harmful substances or energies into the natural environment, leading to adverse effects on ecosystems, human health, and the quality of life.

Litter and Garbage

Easily visible litter such as cigarette butts, food wrappers, and plastic bottles are common pollutants found on beaches. Cigarette butts, often littered on beaches, account for approximately 40% of all items collected in coastal cleanups. Improperly disposed of residential or commercial trash eventually finds its way to beaches through storm drains and waterways, contributing to the degradation of coastal environments.

Nutrient Pollution

Excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, often from fertilizers and animal waste, can disrupt delicate marine ecosystems. These nutrients can lead to the formation of harmful algal blooms, which can devastate marine life and pose risks to human health by releasing toxins into the environment.

Coastal Erosion

Beaches are always changing because of waves. When sand moves around on the beach, it’s not lost, just relocated to balance the energy from waves. The beach area, including the part above low tide and the dunes, holds sand for when storms hit. Beaches move a bit each year, which is normal. Knowing how beaches move is key to keeping them healthy. If people build too close to the active beach area, erosion can become a problem. With more people living near the coast and climate change, erosion becomes a bigger issue.

Factories

Factories are having a very negative effect on beaches. In particular, through the production of microplastics. These are often melted down to produce new items, but every year vast quantities get into the ocean. Today, nearly all fish caught are discovered to have microplastics in their digestive system. This can alter their ability to feed themselves and their lifespan. Unfortunately, the amount of waste produced by corporations is almost matched by the public.

Harmful Business Practices

Harmful business practices that impact the environment, especially marine ecosystems, include:

1. Excessive Packaging: Businesses that use excessive, non-recyclable packaging contribute to waste that often ends up in oceans and on beaches, causing pollution and harming wildlife.
2. Improper Waste Disposal: Companies that do not properly dispose of their waste can contribute to environmental degradation. This includes dumping industrial waste into oceans or rivers, leading to water pollution that harms aquatic life and ecosystems.
3. Use of Harmful Chemicals: Industries such as manufacturing and agriculture often use harmful chemicals and pesticides. When these chemicals run off into water bodies, they can cause nutrient pollution, leading to algal blooms that deplete oxygen in water and kill marine life.
4. Unsustainable Resource Extraction: Practices like overfishing, mining, and deforestation by businesses can lead to the destruction of habitats and decrease the biodiversity of areas, including marine environments.
5. Energy Consumption and Emissions: High energy consumption and emissions of greenhouse gases from factories contribute to global warming, which affects marine life by altering ocean temperatures and acidification levels.

Luckily, some of the more conscientious supermarkets are starting to think about their packaging and ways they can reduce this. Most forward-thinking fast-food restaurants have switched to paper straws now as well because of the effects of plastic on marine life.

Fishing Industry

Marine life faces a significant threat thanks to overfishing. Of course, there are laws trying to reduce overfishing and dragnet usage (both of which have a horrific impact), but there are also issues of the nets themselves. When a net stops being useful, it should legally be recycled. But because of the type of plastic that nets are made from, there are only two machines in Europe that can effectively do this. As a consequence, the cost of disposing of nets ethically is far more than most individual fishermen and even larger industrial fishing operations are prepared to pay.

Marinas and Boatyards

Boating and marinas can impact beaches in several ways:

• Water Quality Issues: The cumulative release of pollutants from individual boats and marinas can lead to water pollution, including high toxicity levels, increased concentrations of pollutants in aquatic organisms and sediments, and elevated nutrient levels that promote algae growth and decrease oxygen levels (eutrophication).
• Erosion and Habitat Destruction: The construction and operation of marinas can physically alter shorelines, wetlands, and aquatic habitats, leading to increased erosion rates and destruction of sensitive ecosystems and bottom-dwelling aquatic communities.
• Pathogens and Contaminants: Discharge of sewage from boats, stormwater runoff from marina parking lots, and alteration of shoreline habitats can introduce pathogens and contaminants into coastal waters, posing risks to aquatic life and public health.
• Chemical Pollution: Boat maintenance activities, such as cleaning and painting, can release chemicals and metals into the water, including solvents, paint, oil, and antifouling paint containing harmful substances like chlorine, ammonia, and phosphates. Small oil spills from motors and refueling activities can also introduce petroleum hydrocarbons into aquatic ecosystems, harming marine organisms and ecosystems.

Igniting the Beacon of Hope

Obviously, it is quite difficult to have an effect on what cooperations do and on the fishing industry. We can change legislation as an individual, lobby, or by running a campaign, but there is no guarantee we will be successful. If we want to go a step further, we can try and enter into the world of politics, but once again, the chances of this leading to anything are slim. However, some things can be done.

Reduce Our Waste

Most supermarkets butchers will allow you to use your own packaging in order to avoid prepackaged vegetables that are often packed extraneously. Recycling your carrier bags is such a small step, but the implementation of a 5 cent fee on all plastic bags has led to a significant reduction in plastic bag use. Also, it’s also helpful to choose paper instead of use of plastics because approximately 90% of floating marine debris is plastic and every year, nearly 10 million tons of plastic end up on beaches worldwide.

Provide Nature-Based Solutions

Nature Based Solutions(NbS) are solutions “which aim to help societies address a variety of environmental, social and economic challenges in sustainable ways, including actions which are inspired by, supported by or copied from nature. NbS use the features and complex system processes of nature, such as its ability to store carbon and regulate water flow, in order to achieve desired outcomes, such as reduced disaster risk, improved human well-being and socially inclusive green growth”.

European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation

Around the world, various methods are used to protect beaches. In the U.S., the government has allocated approximately $9 billion for sand re-nourishment projects, where sand is dumped onto eroded beaches. While effective temporarily, this approach is costly and not sustainable, especially with climate change worsening the problem. Hard infrastructure like sea walls as sand retention structures is also used but can transfer risks and be visually unappealing.

Recently, natural solutions like coral reef restoration and sand and dune restoration have been explored. These Nature-based Solutions (NbS) not only protect against erosion but also provide additional benefits, such as coral reefs can dissipate up to 97% of incident wave energy and provide revenue-generating opportunities associated with snorkeling, diving, fishing, aquarium trade, and more. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, NbS offers innovative approaches to coastal protection.

Fill Any Dug Holes at the Beach

Before departing, ensure to fill any dug holes at the beach. Although constructing sandcastles and digging moats is enjoyable, leaving holes poses obstacles for beach-dwelling animals. Large holes are particularly hazardous for sea turtles nesting at night. In addition to filling holes, remember to remove any equipment, such as chairs or umbrellas, which could potentially entangle and harm seaside wildlife.

Use Reusable Eco-Friendly Products

Use reusable items like water bottles, food containers, utensils, and bags to minimize the use of single-use plastics at the beach. Pack your snacks and beverages in reusable containers, and steer clear of plastic wrappers that can easily be blown away by the ocean breeze.

Uniting for a Common Cause

The power to effect change lies within our communities. By participating in beach cleanups and supporting local conservation initiatives, individuals can forge a path towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

How You Can Get Involved

Fortunately, you can be a part of correcting that problem. Causes like The Great British Beach Clean help people come together and help keep our beaches clean. Their helpers consist of a mix of volunteers and school-age children who might be studying conservation and the environment or simply have a passion for helping their local seaside. Thousands of people take part in events like this every year, and there are numerous like it around the world happening throughout the year.

A Google search should help you ascertain if there is a beach clean organized for your area. But if there isn’t one, they are simple to organize yourself. The Marine Conservation Society is one organization that runs similar projects, and they have all the details one would need on their website. Support how organizations like Corona along with Oceanic global is taking action for 80% of plastic that comes from land-based sources. To address this, they conduct high-impact cleanups of America’s most polluted beaches. Boca save our beaches is another similar non-profit organization. These organizations have coastal scientists working for the cause. Organizing an event is a great way to contribute to one’s community and improve the environment.

Save San Clemente’s Beaches

State Beach and North Beach face imminent danger as OCTA proposes the installation of $200 million worth of rock revetments along the shoreline. These plans involve extending the revetments up to 125 feet seaward of the railroad, mirroring previous actions where $8 million was spent at the south end of town. The railroad’s hard armoring of our shoreline disrupts the natural flow and accumulation of beach sand, exacerbating coastal erosion. Similar measures are anticipated for the south end of North Beach, extending through Linda Lane. Join different petitions and organizations to save our beaches and bring back our beaches.

Save our Beaches organization conducts a beach cleanup on a monthly basis and held California Coastal Cleanup Day as a collaborative event. Steve Masoner was honored as Seal Beach’s “Citizen of the Year” during the Annual Cypress College Americana Awards Our Board of Directors to educate individuals, companies, schools & organizations on how their environmental footprint impacts their community and the world by participating in Save Our Beach beach cleanups.

Donate to NGOs

Donations are vital for the sustainability of Saving our beaches. While the efforts of numerous volunteers collecting litter from our shorelines have been remarkable, the operation of a non-profit organization also necessitates financial support. From permits and insurance to paper and printing, from email and internet services to website design and maintenance, and from pickers and gloves to bags, various essentials require financial backing.

15 Shocking Stats About Pollution

1. Up to 12.7 million tons of plastic are washed into the seas each year.
2. UK visitors to the beach leave behind 5,559 tons of plastic waste each year.
3. More than 100,000 marine animals die every year due to plastic debris in the ocean.
4. 70% of marine litter is estimated to end up on the seabed
5. The United Nations estimates that by 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in our oceans, by weight.
6. More than 1.3 million microplastic particles per square meter were found on three Spanish beaches.
7. China and Indonesia are the primary contributors to plastic pollution in global waters, together responsible for over a third of plastic debris like bottles and bags obstructing international sea routes.
8. In 2017, there were approximately 52.4 billion plastic water bottles consumed in the U.S alone, a significant amount of which ended up polluting beaches.
9. 80% of beach litter in the Mediterranean is plastic.
10. In 2016, 31.8 million tons of plastic waste was mismanaged in coastal regions.
11. Nearly 13,000 pieces of plastic litter are found on every kilometer of beach throughout Britain.
12. It’s estimated that by 2050, nearly 99% of all seabird species will have ingested plastic, much of which originates from polluted beaches.
13. During the Great British Beach Cleanup, it was found on average, there were 509 items of litter found on every 100 meters of beach.
14. 428 beach cleans took place over the 10-day period, with 5,416 volunteers turning up to help clean up our coastline.
15. The amount of plastic bags found during beach cleans has been reduced by more than half since supermarkets started charging for them.

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