Beach is not a trash can, Plastic Pellets harming wildlife

[alfredo]

It was reported in one of our affiliate papers last week that plastic pellets have been washing up on shore just south of us in the Port Albert to Port Franks area of Lake Huron. The Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources are trying to find out where the little pellets, that resemble fish eggs, originated. The pellets are less than half a centimeter in size are used to create plastic products when melted and molded; they are believed to have washed up during a recent storm.

At this point it's not know whether the wash up is the cause of an accidental spill or a deliberate one. The sad thing is, these pellets can have negative affects on wildlife such as shorebirds that will be quick to eat the look alike fish eggs, and end up starving themselves. Hopefully, these tiny pellets can be cleaned up and its source found so it does not happen again.

Sadly, this isn't the only hazardous issue our beaches and wildlife face. While our news team was down at the Port Elgin Beach Wednesday evening, we were shocked at what we saw. While the MOE and Centre for Coastal Conservation are working to find the root of the problem just to the south of us, it's apparent we have an issue right here. We were disgusted at the amount of garbage that was strewn across the sand.

We have been lucky this last week to have great weather to coincide with our amazing beach, but what we saw that night wasn't the sunset or people enjoying themselves, rather we were distracted at the number of plastic cups, plastic bags, chip bags, pop cans... the huge amount of litter that was left when everyone was finished at the beach for the day. There are ample amounts of garbage cans that beach users can throw their trash in. It takes as much time to pick up your garbage as it takes to open the pop can or chip bag, so we don't quite understand why people don't pick it up and take it back with them.

Plastic pellets may be harmful to the wildlife along the shoreline, but this deliberate mess is just sickening. It's a real shame to see there are people our there that do not respect the environment, the beach or their fellow users.

[admin]

Good Post. I'm glad the newspapers are as disgusted as I am with the lack of respect for our public spaces. Maybe the police should actually hand out littering tickets, if such a by-law exists. Personally never heard of someone being ticketed for littering.

[lungeone]

Why can't we all take out what we take in. It's very simple. Don't Pollute!