UNC-W Forest 14 lbs 11.4oz.

If you started at the beginning of this blog, you would know that we were inspired to start the blog b/c of our daily walks (sometimes more than once a day) in UNC-W Forest with our dog, Gigi.  We love Gigi and we love walking her at UNC-W.  But, what we do not love is all the trash we see, so we began to pick it up and made a New Year's Resolution to pick up at least one piece of trash every day.  (We usually pick up a lot more).

So, life got busy and I did not always post our collection, but we continued to pick up trash.

Today we picked up 14 lb. 11.4 oz. of trash in a little over an hour while we walked the dog and played with other dogs.   Most of the trash came from behind Carlton Place apartments.  It looks as though residents party up and throw their beer and cigarette butts over the fence into the woods.   Another "dirty" area was the Hooker Rd. access to the forest.  There we picked up many many plastic bottles and aluminum cans as well as two bags of something poopy---yuck yuck yuck!

Here is a list of our loot:
2 beer case boxes
14 plastic bottles
a pile of rusted survey flags (plastic flags)
5 glass bottles
16 aluminum cans
4 plastic cups
3 straws
1 styrofoam cup
5 glass bottles
2 dirty diapers
2 plastic bags of poop
5 plastic bags
lots of other bibs and bobs of plastic and styrofoam stuff.

Day Two Sept. 26, 2010 Access 33 south 74 cigarette butts

This was my second day of doing the 20 minute walks on the beach to pick up cigarette butts and other litter.  I found today rather interesting because yesterday was Big Sweep and I hoped for a clean beach, but there was still much to be found.  I was by myself today, so I did not collect as much  as when I was with my husband, but here is my loot:

I walked access 33 (Blockade Runner) headed south today.  1 lb. 7.1 oz.
74 cigarette butts
7 bottle caps
5 straws
1 wiffle ball
1 mini New Hanover Wildcats basketball (the kind they throw out at the game)
1 unused large black garbage bag
1 walmart plastic bag
4 styrofoam cups
1 netting (the kind that beach toys are packaged in)
2 ziplock bags
1 cigar tip
3 balloons
1 hat
1 plastic spoon
1 plastic bottle
other bits and bobs

There was more to be collected, but I had ran out of my 20 minutes and it was time for a swim before the rain came.  I am so thankful for the rain because my herb garden needs it and one of my rain barrels is completely empty.

Day One Sept. 19, 2010 Access 32 South: 142 butts; 20 bottle caps

So, we have decided to join Sara and Danielle and pick up litter for 20 minutes and weigh it.  We collected 1lb 7.3oz which included 142 cigarette butts and 20 bottle caps.

A word on whales

I am saddened to hear about the loss of a trainer's life at Sea World.  I'm sure this lady loved animals very much.

However, I am also just as saddened about the state in which we treat animals such as the orca whales.  Orcas swim freely thousands of miles between hemispheres, and humans think it is okay to capture them and keep them in a bathtub of sorts where people can come gawk at them as they jump in the air for a fish. Whales are social and have families and swim in pods.  Whales live long life spans in the wild, but only a few years in captivity.  Who are we to take that away from them and expect them to cooperate with and entertain humans???  It just is not right.

I can understand if a whale is injured and humans are rehabilitating the whale in hopes and plans of releasing the whale back into the ocean.  But to keep and breed whales in captivity should not be allowed.  Also, we can not learn much about the natural behaviors of whales who are in captivity because this is not their natural state.  We must study them in the wild to understand their natural habits.

May humans evolve enough consciously to stop this type of treatment of animals.

yesterday (Thursday)--28 pieces of trash.  half of that came from a styrofoam egg carton behind carlton place that had already started to break down into even smaller pieces.

Wednesday--Between 10-15 pieces of trash which included 4 beer bottles behind Carlton Place---these were just tossed out there b/c I had recently cleaned that area a few days ago.  There is a large piece of construction plastic that I have not yet collected b/c when I tried, there was a lizard on it.  I'm not afraid of lizards, but I'm worried there may also be spiders embedded there---I'll save that for my husband :-)

I did run into "a friend of the woods" who also walks her dog.  She said, "Oh you are the one who cleans this place up".  She walked with me and helped collect some trash.  It was nice to have the help.

Monday--74 pieces of trash---mostly from behind Carlton Place apartments.  Hopefully, that will soon be all cleaned up.  I can't wait to walk back there and come out empty handed!  Sometimes I find the most random things like a hallogen light bulb???

Hubby and I both walked the dog today.  I took a large trash bag and we headed to Carlton Place apartments.  We picked up 154 pieces of trash in no time flat.  Lots of the trash seems to be construction debris which includes a lot of plastic wrapping and ties.  However, there are so many packing peanuts that I pick up a few each time I walk---not sure where those are coming from, but I hope they are the biodegradable ones.

We did collect 8 beer bottles.  Sadly, there is still more trash, but the bag was full....

Another bag of trash in UNCW woods behind Carlton Place.  I returned here today b/c I know there is a lot of trash there.  I really need to go with a big bag or a wheelbarrow one day as there is no way to get it all with one small bag.

Anyway, I was a little nervous today b/c the weather was warmer and I was reminded of the giant spider that creeped me out the other day.  I'm definitely more cautious when I am picking up litter that has been pasted to the ground by the weather--you never know what is underneath there!  It makes me want to get as much garbage picked up as possible before Spring gets here.

There are lots of plastic bags blowing around out there, many are stuck in trees and I can't get them.  Others have already started shredding apart.  I gathered some large styrofoam packaging pieces today.  One piece was almost buried and had roots growing through it!  Wonder what that does to the natural order of things?

Not sure how many pieces of trash I picked up today on my dog-walk as I was in such a hurry I forgot to count. However, it filled up a bag and the bag started to burst. All of this behind Carlton Place apts. and there is lots more to get. I'm not sure if the wind is blowing their trash out of the garbage or if someone is just dumping. Either way, it is a mess in the woods and something needs to be done about it. I collected 3 plastic beverage bottles, one was a very large Welch's grape juice bottle, a coffee cup, a 5 subject composition book, one glass beer bottle---all of which I was able to recyle. I also collected several plastic bags, some of which had already started breaking down into shreds which makes it impossible to get it all.

I wish I had enough money that I did not have to work for a living (don't we all??) and I could spend more time helping the Earth. I have so many ideas and so many people I want to approach, but I am just short on time. However, if we all pitch in, the need will be less and the Earth will be cleaner! Thanks to all those who help!

57 pieces of trash in UNCW woods--mostly plastic. Lots more to get, but my bag was full, so I left it. I feel like a criminal when I do that, but really, when you only have one bag and you also need to manage a dog, there is only so much you can do. Most of the trash today came from behind Carlton Place apartments. Seems as though trash may blow to the edge of the woods from the apartments. There is a busted printer out there that someone has obviously just dumped.

When I got home, I was separating the recyclables, 3 plastic bottles, one plastic milk jug, several beer cans. Anyway, a large spider was also in the mix!!!! I try to be nice, but somehow curse words spontaneously erupt when that happens!

Yesterday, my husband and I picked up 3 pieces of trash in front of our church located in downtown Wilmington and we also gathered 7 pieces of trash in UNCW woods.

I'm trying to walk down paths in the woods that I don't usually go before the weather warms and snakes start to move about. The good news is that the paths that get walked frequently are looking cleaner.

The most frustrating things I have seen in the past week are two doggy poop bags that have been used to clean the poop, and they are even tied shut, but they have been left in the woods!!! Maybe they are biodegradeable bags???--somehow I doubt it, but maybe.... Anyway, I saw one today, but I had no more room in my bag, so I left it. I picked up the other one a few days ago.

I just finished walking the dog in UNCW woods. Picked up a bag of trash, but counted the pieces as I went. My goal was to pick up 7 pieces today as I know I have skipped some days in the past two weeks. Anyway, what an easy goal! I picked up 101 pieces. There was more to get, but I did not have the time today or the arms to carry it.

A lot of construction debris at old construction/road sites, several pieces of styrofoam packing popcorn, 3 beer bottles and other junk, mostly plastic.

On Monday, I also picked up a bag of trash on campus. several beer cans, one beer bottle and other plastic stuff. One plastic food container, like a yogurt cup, had teeth marks from an animal. That means the animal ingested plastic--probably not a good scenario.....

We are busy people just like you. We both work, we exercise, we clean, we launder, we have hobbies and interests, we have pets. So sometimes it is challenging to find time to pick up litter, even one piece. I know that sounds crazy, but it is true. And some days, we are running from the moment we wake up until we go to bed. So honestly, there are some days when we have to admit that we do not meet our resolutions, but that means that we pick up an extra piece the next day!

Also, when there is time, we pick up more than one piece of litter, but it never counts as a surplus. I try to fit this into my daily activities. Every day, we walk our dog and we find this is the perfect time to help the Earth. We just take a bag with us and pick up trash as we go. Today, I walked our dog on UNC-W campus and in no time had a bag full of garbage. This is one of several bags removed since January 1, but I have not previously recorded the collection.

2 plastic beverage cups (one with lid and straw attached)

2 pieces of a styrofoam cup

2 pieces of heavy construction wrapping plastic

3 aluminum cans (2 beer, 1 soda)

1 round plastic apparatus placed like an ornament on a tree branch

1 plastic bag that had already started to break down and was broken into shreds

1 small piece of green mystery plastic

1 potato chip bag

1 stuffed toy pumpkin that has been floating around the walking trails for months!

Later, on a run, I picked up a piece of balloon at the entrance to a new housing development. This piece of balloon was apparently left from an "open house" sign. I also picked up three pieces of balloon in the same spot on Sunday. I can't say for sure, but it appears as though the balloons are burst when they are no longer needed and any pieces that fall to the ground are left there. Balloons can be especially dangerous to marine animals as they often look like food floating in the ocean.

1/26/09 -- hair bow.

Welcome to our blog!

We have been inspired to write this blog as a result of our efforts to clean trash from the shores of Wrightsville Beach, NC and the nearby city of Wilmington. It really is a long and winding story of how we got here and one we hope to unfold a little later.

But for now, we have made a New Year's Resolution to pick up at least one piece of trash each day that is not ours. We would like to inspire you to do the same. If we do it alone, it is but a small act, but if we do this with 250,000 others, we have made a huge difference for the Earth.