The majority of the trash on the beach doesn’t come from where you’d think. It’s not from beach-goers spending a day on the sand. 80% of trash on the beach comes from inland sources.
Stop 1 on Tour with Liquid IV: Los Angeles, California
Our first stop was on Liquid IV’s home turf – Los Angeles. On a bright sunny day dozens of employees gathered at Dockweiler beach just behind LAX airport to learn more about the challenges of California beaches as well as participate in a beach clean up with Heal the Bay.
Who is Heal The Bay?
An environmental nonprofit that’s been around since the 1980s, Heal the Bay is focused on making our coastal waters and watersheds in the Greater LA area safe, healthy and clean.
Their work has lead toward initiates such as the California plastic bag ban or plastic straw bans.
Heal the Bay does a Different Kind of Beach Cleanup
I was surprised to find the extensive process Heal the Bay uses to do a beach clean up. It’s not just cleaning up trash off the beach. There is a specific process the Heal the Bay team uses because the data from these cleans helps them to advocate for policy that help keep the beach accessible for everyone.
This includes plastic bag or straw bans – or currently in the works: banning styrofoam.
How did they track the data? Via an online tracker. As trash is picked up, the teams track what kind of trash is going into the bin.
Then the trash is weighed and the volume is also recorded into the dataset.
How to get involved with Heal the Bay
Before you go swimming at the beach, consider taking a glance at the latest beach report card. Heal the Bay takes publicly available water quality data and turns it into easy to read report cards so we can understand if it’s safe to swim at the beach or not.
Your beach might be one of the cleanest, but it also might be one of the dirtiest beaches to swim in. Knowing this info will help you make the right choice (or maybe make a trip to a different beach).
Or consider participating in a beach clean up! Find more info at Heal the Bay or donate toward their organization.
Want to SEE this day? Checkout the full video below!
Want to learn more about the Impact Tour? Click here to learn more about what it is!