Tag: beach trash

Posted on

The Remarkable Ways Jekyll Island Protects Nature

Green Grass foreground, oyster beds and sand, a sailboat on the water just right of center; and trees, clouds, and blue sky background.

This summer, we finally made our way to Jekyll Island, one of the eight barrier islands along Georgia’s coast. It was a destination we’d wanted to visit for some time, and our son, Greyson, had experienced it during a fifth-grade school field trip. This time, we decided to bring our dogs along, fulfilling Greyson’s long-standing wish to take them to the beach. Jekyll Island is dog-friendly except in highly protected areas. We found a place to stay that allowed pets and read up on the rules about dogs on the island before we went.

Small Boston Terrier on the san with ocean behind him.
Big white dog with black spots laying on the sand, looking at the ocean and people nearby.

Brief History of Jekyll Island

As many as tens of thousands of Native Americans inhabited coastal Georgia, including Jekyll Island, for about 4500 years before the first Europeans arrived.1 ,2

General James Oglethorpe named it Jekyll in 1733 in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyll, his friend and financier from England who backed the colony. In 1886, the Jekyll Island Club purchased the island, and it became an exclusive hunting club patronized by elite families. After World War II in 1947, the island was sold to the State of Georgia and opened as a State Park in 1948. The Jekyll Island Authority was established in 1950 to manage the island.3

Natural Beauty

Jekyll is full of undeveloped land and beach fronts, with many trails and walking paths to explore. It’s truly worth visiting. Here are just a few of the photos I took.

Image of sand dune with beach below and blue sky and ocean in background.
Sunset beach with dunes at left, ocean at right, and pink edged clouds in blue sky.
Sand dune view taken from the ocean's edge.
Child swimming in the ocean near sunset.
My son swam in the surf during every evening’s walk.
Tree with Spanish moss draped from it.

Driftwood Beach

On the north part of the island, this beach features large driftwood trees that are almost sculptural, formed from a maritime forest that has experienced decades of erosion.4

Jekyll Island has several beautiful beaches to explore, but this one definitely deserves a special mention. It’s a must-see!

Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background.
Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background.
Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background.
Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background.
Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background. Boy with dog at center.
My son with one of our dogs in front of a huge driftwood tree.
Driftwood beach on Jekyll Island, showing the shore with many large driftwood trees and pieces, ocean and blue sky background. Boy walking with dog at center rigjt.

Low Development; Conservation and Education Everywhere

Google map, bird's eye view of Jekyll Island, satelite view

This beautiful island is still a protected Georgia State Park managed by the Jekyll Island Authority. By law, development is limited to 35% of the island, leaving at least 65% in its natural state. You won’t find endless rows of beachfront hotels, billboards, or a long list of bustling attractions here—and that’s precisely the point. Jekyll Island is a place to slow down, enjoy the beach, and appreciate the natural beauty of Georgia’s coast.

To help preserve this unique environment, the island has several rules designed to protect its wildlife and delicate ecosystems. Visitors may collect only empty seashells and dead sand dollars, must avoid fishing in ponds and lakes, and should never feed, approach, or disturb wildlife. Staying out of the dunes and leaving sea turtle nests undisturbed are also essential to protecting the island’s natural habitats.

Sand colored sand dollar on the sand.
We found many sand dollars on Jekyll Island, but because they were alive, we simply observed them and left them where we found them. Please don’t collect live sand dollars—removing them from the water kills them. If you’re not sure if they’re dead or alive, just leave them alone.
Net over a nest on the beach with signage protecting a turtle nest next to a sand dune.
One of many protected sea turtle nests on the beach.

We frequently encountered educational and conservation signs highlighting these rules, as well as some about the wildlife and ecosystems around us. These included reminders for boaters to protect manatees and right whales; information about Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary; protecting sea turtle nests; information on coastal wetlands; and warnings not to feed the alligators!

Sign educating boaters about protecting right whales.
Signs about Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and how boaters can help protect manatees.
Sign on a walkway about maritime forest wetlands.
A dark green sign warning people that it is a crime to feed alligators, in a grassy wetland area.

“Treat all wildlife with respect; you are a guest in this wild habitat.” -jekyllisland.com5

Georgia Sea Turtle Center

This was my favorite place on the island. “Georgia’s only sea turtle education and rehabilitation facility,”6 the Georgia Sea Turtle Center opened in 2007 in the renovated power plant of the Jekyll Island Club. Visitors can learn about sea turtles in the exhibits and see rehabilitation in action at the sea turtle hospital. I was moved to tears during my visit to the hospital, touched by each sea turtle’s unique story and the meaningful work being done to care for and rehabilitate them.

Front of brick building with a pointed peak at roof and round window near top, with "Georgia Sea Turtle Center" over door. Palm trees flank the building and a person is walking toward the door.
Fossilized skeleton of a large sea turtle, suspended from the roof in the museum.
Exhibit showing how Loggerhead sea turtles build nests, and how humans track those activities.
Exhibit showing how Loggerhead sea turtles build nests and how humans track these activities.
Exhibit explaining how terrapins build nests, hatch, and live within the salt marshes.
Exhibit explaining how terrapins build nests, hatch, and live within the salt marshes.
Image of an exhibit map showing all the southeast coast organizations that help protect sea turtles.
Panel map showing all the organizations in the Southeast and Gulf Coast that help protect sea turtles.
Exhibit on plastic pollution and solutions. Colorful plastics and signs about recycling fishing line.
Exhibit on plastic pollution and solutions.
Panel from the same exhibit as above, showing the different types of trash that cause pollution problems in the ocean.
Panel from the same exhibit as above, showing the different types of trash that pollute the ocean.
Aqua blue sign with an image of a sea turtle showing the number, by subspecies, of sea turtle releases.
Sign showing the number of sea turtle releases by subspecies.
A row of sea turtle tanks in the sea turtle hospital, all round, with angled mirrors above.
A row of sea turtle tanks in the sea turtle hospital.
An educational sign about how sea turtles breathe with images, as well as a patient sheet about an individual turtle.
An educational sign at the hospital explaining how sea turtles breathe. Each turtle also had a “Patient Sheet” providing information about the individual turtle, including where it was found and details about its care.

Please visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center if you’re ever on Jekyll Island!

Borrow Bin!

There was a “Borrow Bin” on the wooden walkway from our hotel to the beach! A borrow bin is a container where visitors can borrow or leave beach items, such as toys and waterboards, and return them when they’re finished. This reduces waste and encourages people to share and reuse items (especially plastic) rather than buying new ones. I am a huge fan of these!

Very Little Trash

Overall, I found very little trash on the island’s beaches. I saved most of the items for a future art piece that is currently in the works. There was also an extra metal tent stake, which my husband claimed for repurposing as it was originally intended.

A black flip flop and a purple sand toy next to a felled palm tree trunk.
I found these two pieces at Driftwood Beach, but had to dispose of them in the trash receptacles near the parking lot.
Various pieces of plastic trash with one aluminum can, layed out on white paper towels.
This is what I collected over our time on Jekyll. Not much at all!

Visit Jekyll!

My final takeaway about Jekyll Island is simple: you won’t regret visiting! Beyond its beautiful beaches, natural surroundings, and conservation efforts, the island offers several quaint restaurants and bars, although I haven’t found a favorite just yet. I especially enjoyed Wake Up Coffee Company, the North Pole South Christmas shop, and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. I didn’t have time to visit the art museum, Mosaic, or the water park on this trip, but they’re both on my list for next time. One practical tip: consider bringing groceries from nearby Brunswick, as the island’s only grocery store was quite expensive. You’ll also find plenty of charming little gift shops and ice cream spots to explore.

As our time on the island came to a close, Jekyll offered one final treat: a gorgeous moonrise that provided a memorable ending to our visit.

The moon rising over the ocean on Jekyll Island.

Let me know if you’ve been to Jekyll and what you liked about it! Thanks for reading, and please subscribe!

© 2026 Marie Cullis. All photographs are copyrighted and may not be used without permission.

Footnotes:

  1. Article, “Native Americans on Jekyll,” by Mary Starr, The Brunswick News, July 26, 2008. ↩︎
  2. Page, “Island History,” jekyllisland.com, accessed July 5, 2026. ↩︎
  3. Page, “Island History,” jekyllisland.com, accessed July 5, 2026. ↩︎
  4. Page, “Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island GA,” goldenisles.com, accessed September 13, 2026. ↩︎
  5. Page, Rules & Safety Tips, jekyllisland.com, accessed August 30, 2026. ↩︎
  6. Page, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, jekyllisland.com, accessed August 30, 2026. ↩︎

Posted on

Plastic Art Project #2, “Mermaid’s Grotto”

Mermaid's Grotto, plastic pieces to make the collected items with the mermaid doll at center. Blue, aqua, black background.
“Mermaid’s Grotto,” by Marie Cullis, 2023. Plastic pieces collected from the beach in Duck, North Carolina. Background is acrylic paint on wood board. Copyright Marie Cullis.

About

This was my second plastic art project from beach trash my family collected. We collected the pieces in 2022 and I created this plastic ocean scene in the fall of 2023. Like my previous piece, some of the items are highly recognizable, like the goggles, plastic fork, bottle caps, dental picks, straws, and of course, a broken mermaid doll. Measures 24″ x 24″.

Picking Up Beach Trash

Sunset, orange sun casting an orange glow over the blue ocean, with an orange and pink ombre sky. Pool in foreground but darkened.
Sunset from our balcony in Duck, North Carolina, June 2022.

My family vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 2022, traveling to many of the towns up and down the barrier islands. But we stayed in Duck, North Carolina, which is where many of our beach walks and swim days happened. As usual, we picked up trash on all of our walks. When we returned to our rental, I saved as many pieces as I could for a future art piece and washed them. These are a few of the trash piles resulting from the bags of trash we picked up and emptied:

Pile of collected trash.
Pile of collected trash.
Pile of collected trash.

I had quite a bit to sort through! We found several big pieces, but we found many more small pieces of plastic on this end of the island. Especially in the less populated areas of the beach. Those are wonderful to both get off the beach and to use in plastic art projects.

Items We Didn’t Keep

Since we had a long way to travel and a small car, I had to limit what I carted home to a single bag. So, first I decided to recycle all I could – water bottles, soda bottles, paper, and plastic from products like the Sun In and Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen. I opted to throw away very dirty pieces, socks and degraded plastic films. We left behind beach toys for the next family and kept a few too, like these diving toys:

Toy missile diving weights, orange and green.

These barnacled and very dirty snorkel goggles were super cool, but there was no way to clean them enough to travel home with. So I took multiple photos of them:

  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
  • Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.

Another cool item that I didn’t keep was this work or fishing glove because it had so many things stuck to it!

Fishermen's glove, yellow and black.

My Process

Plastic trash laid out on a pink kitchen towel after having been washed again. Goggles, bottle caps, straws, and many other colorful plastics.

I washed everything again when I returned home and dried it thoroughly before storing it for my art project (it was over a year before I had time to work on the art project).

Plastic mermaid doll, green hair and tail.

When I found the broken mermaid doll, I immediately knew this would be the center of my piece. Inspired by The Little Mermaid, this piece of art came together using plastic pieces that look like everyday items, as if she’d collected the items from shipwrecks. Plastic caps became cups and kitchen items. I turned candy wrappers into purses. Other plastic pieces became tools or beauty items, such as the paintbrush, flower barrette, and mini bubble wands. And of course, I had a piece of a fork – that is, a dinglehopper!

Additionally, plastic parts from fireworks became jellyfish and stars. There is a cellophane sun in the upper right corner. Water bottle caps appear as bubbles. Solo cup pieces became sea plants.

I bought a medium-sized piece of wood, a 24-inch square, at the hardware store. I painted the background with acrylic paint.

Square piece of wood, painted with aqua blues, turquoise, green, and black acrylic paint to look like under the ocean, with the center strokes vertically painted to represent a grotto.

The Final Piece

I used Tacky Glue to attach the pieces. I forgot to take photos as the project progressed, though it came together pretty quickly. In this detail, to right of the mermaid doll, you can “items” stacked on her “shelves” that look like beauty item, kitchen items, and maybe even tools. She’s also holding a “purse” and a “wand”:

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

In the next detail, to the left of the mermaid doll, you can other items such as a paintbrush, part of a pen, a straw, caps, a Swisher Sweets tip, and a disposable razor handle. Below are a couple of “purses” I made from plastic string and wrappers we found. Above those is a plastic piece that looks like a fish!

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

The next image, showing the bottom right corner, are larger items I used to create sort of a storage bin of items which includes nylon rope, a juice or milk bottle, straws, bottle caps, broken toys, two pairs of broken glasses, and other miscellaneous plastic parts.

Section of the art piece showing the mermaid doll and many small plastic pieces representing items she found in shipwrecks.

Below, in the left corner, I made sea plants from various plastic items including red and yellow broken Solo cups, foam, nylon rope fragments, coiled keychain, orange and black plastic pieces, and green plastic string pieces that likely came from a beach chair that was falling apart.

Section of the art piece showing long plastic pieces I used to make sea plants.

For these jellyfish, I used the plastic from exploded fireworks and plastic ribbon pieces for the tentacles, and plastic wrappers and film bundled on top to create the bodies.

Close-up of jellyfish made from plastic trash pieces on aqua blue background.

Next

Since I did not use all of the pieces from our Outer Banks trip, I’m saving those for a future art project or teaching project.

My next project is going to be created from items I collected on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, during a holiday weekend. Stay tuned for my article on that Plastic Art project!

Feel free to check out my Plastic Art Projects page for other projects that people have done. If you have a plastic trash art piece you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below! Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!

Copyright © Marie Cullis, 2023, “Mermaid’s Grotto” art piece. All photos in this article by Marie Cullis.
Posted on

Plastic Art Project #1

Plastic trash arranged in an ocean scene, colorful plastics with an aqua and sea blue background.
Photo of “St. Augustine, Florida 2021” by Marie Cullis.

About

This was my first plastic art project from beach trash I collected. I collected the pieces in 2021 and created this plastic ocean scene in the summer of 2023. Some of the items are highly recognizable, like the toothbrush, plastic spoons, and dental pick. There’s even the rolled end of an old latex condom in there (sanitized, of course). Measures 12″ x 12″.

Picking Up Beach Trash

My family and I have always picked up trash at beaches wherever and whenever we get to visit them. In fact, on our honeymoon, my husband helped me clean up tires and other debris from St. Pete Beach in Florida. We dutifully bag up collected trash and put it in a dumpster or covered trash receptacle. We donate items like unbroken beach toys and usable clothing (after cleaning).

We spent a week at the beach in St. Augustine, Florida in October 2021, and as usual, we collected all sorts of trash and plastic pieces. This time, I cleaned and saved some of it for a future art piece.

I Didn’t Keep Every Piece

First, I separated the undesirable, donatable, recyclable, and other miscellaneous items that I didn’t intend to use in my artwork. This included items such as a glass bottle we found in the surf (since glass is fully recyclable) that had living barnacles attached to it:

We carefully removed the barnacles and put them back in the water. I couldn’t leave a glass bottle in the surf for obvious reasons, so we tried our best to save the creatures.

Other items I didn’t keep for artwork included rusty metal cans, recyclable plastic water bottles, complete beach toys (which I donated), and oversized objects. Additionally, there was a large white blanket (which we washed and donated), a crusty hat brim, and a used vape pen (which, though pretty, I threw away due to concerns about leftover chemicals):

  • Largw white blanket found on the beach sand at night.
    A large white blanket we found on a night walk.
  • A vape pen, white with a rainbow going across, HQD Cuvie Plus.
    Vape pen, pretty but possibly toxic.
  • Black baseball hat brim, covered in sticky sand.
    Baseball hat brim, covered in sticky sand.

Last, I found this unidentifiable gelatinous piece, which I then believed to be plastic but have now discovered that it may have been a washed-up tunicate, colloquially called a ‘sea pork’:1

Gelatinous but dried up unidentifiable piece.

My Process

While we were still on vacation, I rinsed everything I planned to cart home. In groups, I washed all the pieces thoroughly in dish soap and water and then laid them out to dry:

Batch of plastic trash soaking in dish soap and warm water, in a black tub.
Cleaned colorful plastic pieces drying on a black towel.

I began by painting a sea background on a square piece of wood using acrylic paint. Next, I arranged the plastic pieces, starting with the largest ones, and secured them with glue. At first, I didn’t have a clear vision, but as I experimented with the pieces—arranging and rearranging them like a puzzle—a fishing scene gradually emerged. Here’s a progression of the piece:

  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
  • Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
Progression of plastic trash art piece, blue and green sea background, with colorful pieces making up a fisherman, large fish at center, jellyfish, other creatures, and coral reef at bottom.
Completed art piece by Marie Cullis.

So we have a fisherperson paddling a boat, hauling ‘sea treasures’ in a net behind them, while a giant fish, a jellyfish, and other sea creatures swim below near a coral reef. Last, I took a soda bottle cap, wrote the title on it, and glued it near the top, as if it represented the sun.

Next

Since this was a small board (12″x12″), I did not use all of the trash pieces, so I’ve saved those for a future art project or teaching project!

My next project was created from items I collected in Duck, North Carolina, in the Outer Banks. Read my article on Plastic Art Project #2!

Feel free to check out my Plastic Art Projects page for other projects that people have done. If you have a plastic trash art piece you’d like to share, please leave me a comment below! Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!

Copyright © Marie Cullis, 2023, “St. Augustine, Florida 2021” art piece. All photos in this article by Marie Cullis.

Footnote:

  1. Article, “The Secret Life of ‘Sea Pork,’ The Organ-Like Blobs on Your Beach,” by Jessica Leigh Hester, atlasobscura.com, May 15, 2019. ↩︎
Posted on

Trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina

All photos in this article were taken by me. All Rights Reserved.

The beach off of NC 12, near Black Pelican Beach, just north of Avon, NC.
The beach off of NC 12, near Black Pelican Beach, just north of Avon, NC.

This year, we visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’d only ever been there once, in 2003, just before Hurricane Isabel altered parts of the barrier islands. We enjoyed the landscapes, the nature reserves, the wildlife, the quaint towns, and of course, the beaches.

Natural Beauty

The Outer Banks are a string of barrier islands that span and protect nearly the entire coast of North Carolina. As an Outer Banks Guide explained, “They are made entirely of sand, without the keel of rock that anchors most islands firmly to the earth. It is a fascinat­ingly evanescent phenomenon in geological terms, a landform so transient that changes are visible from year to year.”1 Though there is a lot of development, there are vast natural areas, preserves, dunes, and beaches. We saw inspiring sun rises on the ocean side and gorgeous sunsets on the sound side.

Sunset over the sound, taken from the Duck Town Park Boardwalk with a dock at center.
Sunset over the sound, taken from the Duck Town Park Boardwalk, Duck, NC.

Wildlife

There were more birds and crabs than I can list, as well as deer and other animals. Pelicans seemed to enjoy showing off their graceful glide just inches above the sea. Sandpipers and terns poked into the sand seeking food. A few times, I sat really still on the beach when there weren’t a lot of people around, and I became surrounded by ghost crabs! The Outer Banks have laws and protected areas for wildlife throughout the islands. They restricted humans from some places to protect bird nests:

Do Not Enter sign, restricting areas where nesting birds and their eggs are protected.
Do Not Enter signs from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service on the Outer Banks, NC.
IMG_2738

We even saw sea turtle tracks!

Sea turtle tracks on the sand.
Sea turtle tracks at Oregon Inlet, NC.

But sadly, we also found a dead sea turtle. We visited an area called Oregon Inlet and had a picnic snack on the beach. Then we walked along the beach and picked up trash.

The beach along Oregon Inlet, seaweed and shells dot the edge of the water.
The beach along Oregon Inlet, NC.

In the distance, I could see something big with orange stripes and wasn’t sure what it was until we got right up to it. Once I realized that it was a deceased sea turtle, I cried. I don’t know what caused its death, but I was sorry that it had lost its life. When I went to report the turtle, I discovered that spray paint markings like these indicate that this turtle had already been reported. Scientists document the animal’s species, sex, and age, and also extract genetic material to study and to better understand those species.

Dead sea turtle with orange spray paint lines on the sand.
Deceased sea turtle with orange spray paint markings.

The National Park Service has many sites in the Outer Banks, including several lighthouses and the Wright Brothers National Memorial, and they had one on Ocracoke Island that offered sea turtle education. My son learned a lot from the rangers and their exhibit.

My son listened to the National Park Service employees and learned about sea turtle nesting on the Outer Banks.
My son listened to the National Park Service rangers and learned about sea turtle nesting on the Outer Banks. National Park Service site on Ocracoke Island.

Sea turtle nesting exhibit at the National Park Service site on Ocracoke Island. Turtle shells, figurines, a skull, and signage on a table.
Sea turtle nesting exhibit at the National Park Service site on Ocracoke Island.

Trash

As usual for my family, we picked up litter and beachcombed. Following are three of the piles we accumulated, containing a range of items – bottles of sunscreen, pieces of toys, Styrofoam/polystyrene, pieces of nylon rope, fireworks debris, food wrappers, plastic bags and film, and many, many small pieces of plastic. I uploaded images of each individual item into the Litterati app.

Pile of collected trash.

Pile of collected trash.

Pile of collected trash.

As you can see, we found quite a variety of items, some recognizable and some not! Some of these items likely washed up on the beach from other places or fell off of boats, but others were obviously left behind. It’s so important to remember to leave the beach cleaner than you found it! Plastic pollution exponentially increases annually and is harming everything in the food chain, including humans.

Below are a few of my favorite finds – a broken green-haired plastic mermaid, a fishermen’s glove, and two missile-shaped diving weights that we ended up using and keeping!

Toy missile diving weights, orange and green.
Fishermen's glove, yellow and black.
Plastic mermaid doll, green hair and tail.

I also found these goggles, which at first I thought someone had dropped. But upon closer examination, I noticed that these had been in the ocean long enough to grow barnacles:

Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.
Barnacled and very dirty snorkle goggles, yellow frame with clear and frosted plastic parts.

Jennette’s Pier

"<yoastmark

"<yoastmark

Located in Nags Head, NC, and used for sightseeing and fishing, this pier is unique. It was originally built in 1939 by the Jennette family, hence the name. The North Carolina Aquarium Society bought it in 2003 with the intention of building an educational outpost for the Aquarium, but Hurricane Isabel severely damaged the pier later that same year. The Aquarium rebuilt the 1000-foot-long, concrete pier with educational panels throughout and it reopened in 2011.2 It is LEED certified and has 3 wind turbines:

""Harnessing

Wind turbine, looking from the bottom, almost straight up. Sky in background.
Wind turbine at Jennette’s Pier.

They had exhibit panels on birds and marine mammals and shorebirds, such as this one:

"Sea Turtle Rescue" sign explaining how sea turtles are rescued.
“Sea Turtle Rescue” sign at Jennette’s Pier.

They had others on many topics, including surfing, ocean processes, fishing, and trash. In fact, they had sponsored recycling stations for items like cigarette butts and fishing line:

PVC tube recycling station for fishing line.
Recycling station for fishing line.

PVC tube recycling station for cigarette butts.
Recycling station for cigarette butts, to be recycled by TerraCycle.

The Pier House features a small, free series of North Carolina Aquariums interactive exhibits. I highly recommend visiting this pier if you’re ever on the Outer Banks!

My son standing in front of one of the North Carolina Aquarium exhibit tanks, with fish at top.
My son standing in front of one of the North Carolina Aquarium exhibit tanks.

Other Cool Finds

Outer Banks Brewing Station

We ate at this brewery and restaurant, which was once featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. While we went to several good restaurants, I’m featuring this one because it uses wind energy! It was the first wind-powered brewery in the United States, and the first business to produce wind power on the Outer Banks. They use 100% of the turbine’s energy to supplement their electricity. Over the course of its operating life (at least 30 years), this 10 kW Bergey GridTek system will offset approximately 1.2 tons of air pollutants and 250 tons of greenhouse gases.3 Oh, and we enjoyed the food and brew!

My husband inside of the Outer Banks Brewing Station, with a flight of beer in front of him on a table.
My husband at the Outer Banks Brewing Station, preparing for his flight (of beer)!

Wind turbine against blue sky, at the Outer Banks Brewing Station.
Wind turbine at the Outer Banks Brewing Station.

The Surfin’ Spoon

This frozen yogurt shop in Nags Head was my son’s absolute favorite, and they also offered dairy-free ice cream treats that were delicious! This shop, owned by a former professional surfer, collects and donates money to Surfers for Autism, a non-profit that provides free surf sessions to children and adults with autism and other related developmental delays and disabilities.4

My son peeking through the Surfin' Spoon's sign.
My son peeking through the Surfin’ Spoon’s sign.

Dog friendly

Almost everywhere on the Outer Banks is super dog friendly! I found this pleasantly surprising and hope to bring our dog there someday.

Dog prints in the sand.

Overall, A Lovely Place to Travel

We saved up for this trip and felt privileged to be able to travel the Outer Banks, taking in many sights from Corolla all the way down to Emerald Isle, North Carolina. We saw several lighthouses, National Park Service sites, and other places that I didn’t have time to mention above. I highly recommend the Outer Banks for its beauty, dedication to conservation, and relaxed atmosphere. Thanks for reading, please share and subscribe!

My son playing on the beach in the early evening in Duck, NC.
My son playing on the beach in the early evening in Duck, NC.

 

Footnotes:
Posted on

Fireworks on the beach

Fireworks on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Fireworks on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Photo by A n v e s h on Unsplash

I love fireworks. My son loves fireworks. So much so that we drag my (grumbling) husband to watch them every July 4th. However, I do like to leave the annual tradition of blowing up sparkly gunpowder to the professionals. I have never taken much to buying and setting off my own fireworks, especially with a young child around. Since I don’t purchase consumer fireworks, I honestly have never given much thought to the waste they create. But then my best friend, who lives on the coast of North Carolina, sent me this photo the day after July 4th last year:

Fireworks debris collected on a North Carolina beach
Fireworks debris collected on a North Carolina beach, July 5, 2020. Photo by Taylor Notion

She collected that much plastic and cardboard firework waste on a walk where she lives, all left behind by people the night before. That’s the amount she found that hadn’t already washed into the ocean during high tide. That’s from just one section of one beach, in one town. I imagine fireworks at the beach are fun and beautiful, but at what cost to the environment?

Waste

After reading multiple news articles from coastal states, particularly Florida, I discovered that the Independence Day firework waste collected is measured in tons. Tons! Even on beaches where fireworks are illegal, such as on Hilton Head Island, beach patrol collected seven trailers’ worth of fireworks debris in 2019.5

“Any regular beach walker will tell you about encountering little ribbons of plastic along the tide line in the days and weeks after the Fourth of July. All waiting for the high tide that will be their ride to join that vast swirl of ocean-borne plastics.” -Mark Lane, The Daytona Beach News-Journal6

Since these are set off in the dark, it’s difficult to find all of the scattered pieces once exploded. “Fireworks launchers are big and easy to spot and haul away, but each rocket launched and bomb exploded rains tiny shards of plastics and cardboard along with a smattering of metals like lead and copper.”7 This does not include the bottles, cans, cigarette butts, snack bags/containers, and other single-use disposable items that July 4th partiers leave behind.

Plastics

The plastic bits break down into smaller pieces called microplastics, which are then ingested by fish and marine animals. The toxins from those plastics make their way through the food chain, all the way into our bodies.

Saturn Missile Battery fireworks
This 25 shot Saturn Missile costs under $2.00 but will leave microplastics for hundreds of years.

Here is just one example. The Saturn Missile Battery (SMB), which I’ve seen debris from in a lot of Fifth of July clean-up images, is a common type of aerial firework. It consists of a cardboard base packed with between 25 to 1,000 shots. These shots are small plastic tubes filled with explosive powder. “When an SMB is detonated, each of those tubes shoots into the air with a shrill whistle, shatters apart and falls back to earth, creating a shower of litter that’s hard for even the best-intentioned reveler to clean up. Unlike colorful caps and wings, the dull gray or green SMB litter blends into sand and soil.”8 These bits of plastics and microplastics will last for hundreds of years.

Fifth of July Clean-ups

For all celebrations at the beach, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends cleaning up after ourselves, participating in coastal clean-ups, and educating others. “By celebrating the Fourth of July and enjoying fireworks responsibly, we can honor our country through protecting our beloved coastal environments, and the marine animals who rely on these habitats.”9 There are “Fifth of July” clean-ups nationwide, volunteers who clean-up after the partiers the night before. It’s always a good thing to participate in a trash clean-up. But what if we could end this tradition altogether and avoid a 4th of July pollution hangover?

Fireworks on a road
Photo by Alexander Kagan on Unsplash

Wildlife Disturbance

Left on the beaches, fireworks debris harms marine life. They block the paths of sea turtles and crabs. Not to mention birds and marine animals ingest these small pieces of debris. Additionally, there are dangers to all wildlife from injury and entanglement from the plastic garbage. Unfortunately, July 4th is during prime sea turtle nesting season.

The noise from fireworks disturbs animals everywhere, from eagles and other birds to our domesticated love ones. The loud explosions cause panic and despair in many animals.10 Just think of how your dog or your neighbor’s dog reacts every 4th of July.

“Environmentalists from Clearwater Marine Aquarium and Audubon Bird Stewards reported that the noise, debris, and lights from fireworks were negatively impacting both sea turtles and beach nesting birds. Fireworks cause aborted nesting attempts, ingestion of plastic residue, and disturbed and disoriented hatchlings, all of which significantly reduces the number of successful births.”11

Seal with a plastic or rubber ring growing into the skin around its neck.
Any litter you leave on the beach can potentially harm another species. Image by Noutch from Pixabay

Other Problems from Fireworks

Consumer fireworks cause thousands of injuries annually in the United States. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2019 there were approximately 10,000 injuries from fireworks treated in emergency departments, with about 73% of those during just a one-month interval surrounding July 4th.12

In addition, fireworks, both consumer and professional types, are potentially toxic to the air and water, hence to us, wildlife, and the water we drink.13&14&15

Fireworks from gender reveal parties have caused massive wildfires.16&17

Did you know that Americans spend close to $1 billion annually on consumer fireworks? This number astonished me for many reasons. Do you know how many problems we could solve for ourselves, wildlife, and the planet with $1 billion? Make a list, pick one, and I bet it’s money better spent than just blowing it up.

Fireworks debris piled up on sand.
Photo by Karen Montgomery on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Environmentally Friendly Fireworks

There have been some developments with making more environmentally friendly fireworks, but these changes have not been significant enough to make large-scale differences. These include fireworks released with compressed air as an alternate propellant and changing the chemical make-up to reduce pollutants, but the studies on the latter are still new and the impact is not clear. In consumer fireworks, some companies are trying to switch to recycled paper and cardboard components over plastics, but testing new products takes time and money.

Fireworks debris on the coast of New Zealand.
Photo by Murray Adamson on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 2.0)

New Traditions

July 4th is no celebration for the environment and wildlife. We can do better. Especially with something that is so non-essential to our lives.

I argue that we don’t need to set off consumer fireworks or sparklers on the beach or anywhere else in nature, at all. In fact, I began this article as a person who loved to drag her family to professional fireworks every summer, but after researching the problems even they create, I’m starting to think differently. Are there new traditions we can create? What about laser light shows?

If you do set off fireworks on the beach or in a natural area, please take safety precautions and clean up the debris. It really matters! We can all make a difference and encourage others to do the right thing. Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe.

 

Additional Resources:

Article, “Let Freedom Ring and Fireworks Fly, but Keep Debris off the Beaches and Out of the Sky!” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program, July 1, 2019.

Article, “Fireworks: Can they ever be eco-friendly?” Deutsche Welle, accessed June 19, 2021.

Article, “Are Fireworks Bad for the Environment?” by Russell McLendon, Treehugger.com, updated February 23, 2021.

Footnotes:

 

Posted on

Only You Can Prevent Beach Trash

Last updated on February 11, 2024.

Trash with the words "100% Leakproof" on it
“100% Leakproof.” Photo by Marie Cullis.

In my recent article about my trip to Hilton Head Island and its environmental consciousness, I mentioned that the beaches are really clean and well-maintained. Even with their efforts, I still picked up about 300 pieces of trash during my week there. Of course, I logged these into my Litterati app.

I thought I could put the images of my trash to good use, to show people how they can prevent beach and ocean pollution!

I bet you already know a lot about this. But if you share this article, it might enlighten others who will then use preventative measures. And then the world could be a less polluted place!

“Worldwide, 73 percent of beach litter is plastic.” -National Geographic7

Common Types of Beach Trash

I noticed that the same types of trash commonly appear on beaches all over the country. So I’ve divided this article into sections based on the common types of trash I’ve found.

Image of a Plastic water bottle in the surf with a blue label.
Plastic water bottle almost in the surf. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Plastic drink bottles and caps

These are the most common items I pick up EVERYWHERE, and not just on beaches. Our love affair with drinks in single-use disposable plastic bottles and cups (I’m including styrofoam in this classification because styrofoam is chemically a plastic) is completely out of control. I even picked a red Solo cup that I used to collect cigarette butts and microplastics! I picked up many single-use disposable drink items like these:

Photos by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

Buy a reusable drink container (or two) and use that for all your liquid refreshments. I have two: a Kleen Kanteen for water; and a Hydroflask coffee cup. They handle pretty much everything.

If you must buy a beverage, please dispose of it properly.

Food and snack wrappers

I find this type of litter on the beach (and everywhere else) very often. This includes food wrappers, containers, zipper bags, etc. Below is an image of a washed-up cannonball jellyfish next to the plastic lid of a cylindric chip container.

Plastic bottle cap next to a washed up jellyfish.
Plastic lid next to a washed-up jellyfish. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Here are some additional examples of food and snack wrappers:

Snack bag found on the beach in South Carolina. Photos by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

Follow the saying, “Leave it cleaner than you found it.” Or “carry in, carry out.” Don’t lose track of your trash and disposables. Put them inside your beach bag until you can find a proper trash can. You can also consume less prepackaged food, which will be better for your health as well.

Beach Toys

This is one item that is particular to beaches but so easily preventable. Children scatter and lose their things easily, and almost all beach toys are made of plastic. When people leave these items on the beach, they go straight into the ocean during high tide.

Toy pink crab sand toy.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

A toy buried in the sand.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

You can see how easily small toys are overlooked in the next image. Can you guess what that is?

A toy car buried in the sand.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

If you guessed a toy car, you’ve got a good eye!

Here are some other examples of left behind or broken toys:

There were so many abandoned toys on the beach. We weren’t trying to steal toys, I promise! We picked these up as the sun was setting to prevent them from being washed into the ocean at high tide. We donated all but one item to the thrift store. Photos by Marie Cullis.

Yellow plastic toy boat.
We found this and my son named it “Mr. Boat.” We kept this one and donated the rest. Photo by Marie Cullis.

In particular, we found multiple plastic bucket straps, as they are not usually permanently affixed. These are easily forgotten about but this cheap plastic will make it into the ocean by the next morning.

Photos by Marie Cullis.

There are a few brands, such as Green Toys, that feature a rope strap that is not easily removed. The bucket is even made of recycled plastic. It’s the one we own and play with year-round.

What about the packaging for all of those beach toys?

A plastic net bag that the plastic beach toys were sold in.
A plastic net bag that the plastic beach toys were sold in, from American Plastic Toys Inc. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Below are images of a discarded boogie board left at a wash station near the beach. I’d seen these little styrofoam balls lining parts of the beach and I couldn’t figure out what they were from. I did not manage to get a good photo of them. Once I found this broken board and looked at it closely, I could see that these cheap boards were simply nylon or polyester fabric (fabrics made from plastics) over styrofoam. You could not make a worse product for the beach – a product meant to be used in the water that is made of cheap materials and not meant to last more than one vacation – WOW.

Please don’t buy these. This one made it into a proper trash can, but how many end up in the ocean?

Photos by Marie Cullis.

What about the dog’s toys? These can be easily lost. And yes, they are made of plastics and other synthetics.

A yellow tennis ball made by Kong.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

The best thing you can do is to not leave beach toys behind. The best way to keep track of your children’s toys is simply to own less of them. Perhaps just one bucket and one shovel, for example. In general, kids don’t need many toys when playing outdoors to stay entertained and engaged. Besides the sand and water, the beach offers so many shells, sticks, seaweed, and other washed-up items that kids are curious about and love to experiment with.

Place broken toys in your beach bag immediately so that you don’t accidentally leave them behind.

As for dog toys, how about throwing a stick for Fido instead of a ball or plastic Frisbee?

Items related to smoking

This is another common item I find everywhere and not just at the beach. Corporations make cigarette butts out of synthetic materials that do not biodegrade. Plastic lighters are found in the stomachs of birds and marine animals. Honestly, I used to smoke a long time ago and I sometimes threw cigarette butts on the ground. I had no idea how bad they were for the environment. I pick them up regularly now as part of my Litterati mission, as I feel like I owe the environment for this terrible habit I used to have.

Cigarette lighter lying in the ocean's surf.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

I gathered dozens of cigarette butts and several lighters on the beach, here are a few examples:

Photos by Marie Cullis.

I also picked up plastic tips from Swisher Sweets, a brand of inexpensive flavored tip cigarillos.

What can you do?

Don’t smoke! But if you do, can you please discard your waste properly?

Straws

Aren’t straws like so last year?

No, not really. Not yet. Despite straw bans in different parts of the world.

Everywhere we went in Hilton Head served straws, sometimes automatically in the drink. I’m not criticizing the Island for this, because it happens in my town too. But I hope all eateries eventually end this practice. The exception was the Watusi Cafe on Pope Avenue, which served paper straws – thank you!!!

Straws are everywhere! Photos by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

Ask the server to not give you a straw before he or she brings your drink. I used to decline the straws when the server would set them down on the table, but since so many places automatically put them in the drink, I try to cut them off at the pass. Once that straw is opened and in a drink, it doesn’t matter whether or not I use it. The restaurant will now trash it.

I don’t use a straw very often anymore, but if I need one, I have my Final Straw.

Plastic Bags

I still found a couple of plastic bags on the beach despite the town’s ban on plastic bags!

White transparent plastic back stuck to dune fencing.
Photo by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

Decline plastic bags no matter where you live! Bring your own cloth bag.

If you don’t have a bag, can you carry your items without one? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped at a store and purchased one item that the cashier bagged. I don’t need a bag for one item! Give them the bag back right away and say thanks but no thanks!

Many stores do have a paper bag option if you ask for one. If not, they likely have an empty box readily available that you can put your purchases in.

Beach tent/umbrella parts

Many people bring their own beach tents and umbrellas to the beach. But sometimes they leave waste from them. Below you can see where I found a plastic tent stake accidentally left behind and a zip tie of which I found several. The last image is of a full plastic water bottle that someone tied to a nylon string. I found this buried in the sand but the string was sticking out. Once I pulled it out, it was obvious that someone most likely used it as a weight to hold something down. Clever – but forgotten, an immediate pollutant – this would’ve been in the ocean after high tide.

Photos by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

Collect all of the parts to your tents and umbrellas, even if it’s trash. Double-check before you leave that you haven’t forgotten anything.

Everyday Non-Beach items

I find many items on the beach that are not necessarily beach items but items that people use daily. These items include wet wipes or baby wipes (most often not made of anything biodegradable even if the packaging makes that claim); dryer sheets; plastic dental picks; cellophane; condom wrappers; and even a bullet casing (pictured below).

Wet wipe or baby wipe in the sand
Wet wipe or baby wipe. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Wet wipe or baby wipe in the sand
Wet wipe or baby wipe. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Dryer sheet in the sand
Dryer sheet. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Bullet casing on the beach, red plastic.
Bullet Casing. Photo by Marie Cullis.

The most surprising things I’ve ever found on a beach were plastic tampon applicators in the Gulf of Mexico. At first, I thought, there’s no way someone changed their tampon on the beach! But I found not just one, but multiple of these and I’ve also since found them along the Tennessee River. It dawned on me that these items were not left behind by careless beach-goers, but more likely washed up from trash and from sewage disposal that made it into the ocean. It turns out that litter collectors colloquially call these “beach whistles.”

"Beach whistle," or tampon applicator
“Beach whistle,” or tampon applicator. Photo by Marie Cullis.

What can you do?

In general, the best thing you can do is cut down on disposable items, especially single-use disposable plastic items. Even if you’re not leaving these items on the beach, they’re making it onto the beaches and the items are only a portion of what’s washed up from the ocean. Meaning, there’s way more in the ocean.

The answer is to not use disposable items. It isn’t always easy, so just work on solving one problem at a time – that’s what I’m doing and sharing with you on this website!

Beach sunset
Photo by Marie Cullis.

Thanks for reading, please subscribe in the box above. Love your beaches and ocean. And keep being the change!

 

Footnote:

Posted on

Inspiration Abounds on Hilton Head Island

Last updated on February 11, 2024.

Hilton Head Island after sunrise, the wide beach at low tide with sun rising at center. People walking.
Hilton Head Island just after sunrise. Photo by Marie Cullis.

If you read my article about my family’s weekend trip to Hilton Head Island last fall, then you already know how much we love the island. We recently returned from a week-long trip there, and inspiration was all around! Besides the natural beauty of the island and the gorgeous beaches, there are many environmentally conscious things I appreciate about Hilton Head Island.

My son sitting in the surf, looking out at the vast and beautiful ocean.
My son sitting in the surf, looking out at the vast and beautiful ocean. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Sunset on Hilton Head Island, silhouetted tress with the orange sun just behind them, blue and orange hued sky above.
Sunset on Hilton Head Island. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Plastic bag ban in Beaufort County, South Carolina

They implemented a plastic bag ban last fall, and I am here to tell you that from a tourist’s perspective, businesses have not been hurt by this. People were shopping in all the shops and supermarkets and the plastic bag ban did not seem to deter anyone from spending money. I have not found any studies on the result of this ban in the last 8 months, but I imagine the impact has been huge!

Unfortunately, I read that Target and Walmart are using supposedly “reusable” plastic bags. However, since they are made of the same material as regular plastic bags, they defeat the whole purpose as far as plastic production goes. I did not happen to shop at either store while there so I did not witness this first hand.

At the other shops and stores I visited, I received only paper bags when I didn’t have my cloth bags with me. I love it! Can’t we do this everywhere?

Dunes with a palm tree against a cloudless blue sky.
Gorgeous dunes on HHI. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Wildlife

There’s a lot of cherished and protected wildlife on the island. We saw all types of birds, including pelicans – my favorite! We saw dolphins, tons of fish, and several types of crabs. There are also bald eagles, alligators, and turtles living on the island but we didn’t personally get to see those this time. The local government’s website educates on sustainable living, the types of local wildlife, native plants, biodiversity, and ecosystems, and how everyone can help protect those things.

Pelicans flying in a line over the ocean near sunset, pink and purple hues on a blue sky.
Pelicans flying in a line over the ocean near sunset. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Baby crab, dark gray.
Baby crab! Photo by Marie Cullis.

Sea Turtle Conservation Efforts

Although we did not see sea turtles this trip, we saw at least 7 cordoned loggerhead sea turtle nest areas. They were marked with orange signs provided by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, which alerts the public about the protection of this endangered species through federal and state laws.

Loggerhead sea turtle nest sign, cordoned and marked by the South Carolina department of Natural Resources.
Loggerhead sea turtle nest, cordoned by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Three loggerhead turtle nests on the north end of the island (Port Royal area), cordoned off by the SC Department of Natural Resources.
Three loggerhead turtle nests on the north end of the island (Port Royal area). The SC Department of Natural Resources cordoned off the nests. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Many Atlantic coast towns have laws, regulations, and organizations to protect sea turtle nests. On Hilton Head Island, lights on buildings and hotels cannot shine in the direction of the beach. People are only permitted to use red or “turtle-safe” flashlights on the beach between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. between May and October. They have a volunteer organization (Sea Turtle Patrol HHI) that patrols, monitors, and reports on sea turtle nests. They also clean up beach litter and plastics.

Recently, a Kemp’s Ridley turtle made a nest on Hilton Head Island, a first-time event for the most endangered of all the sea turtle species! Wow!

The Coastal Discovery Museum has an “Adopt-a-Nest” Program, which not only sponsors the protection of a sea turtle nest but also supports the museum’s educational programs. Of course, this idea excited me so I adopted a nest while writing this post! They emailed me to let me know that my nest will be the 277th one this year and that they’ll keep me informed on the progress of my adopted nest.

Can I inspire you to adopt a nest as well? Just use the link above!

UPDATE February 11, 2024: Since writing this article, I have been able to adopt a sea turtle nest in Hilton Head every year. It’s one of my ways of giving back.

Baby sea turtles on the beach.
Photo by Skeeze on Pixabay.

Coastal Discovery Museum

The Coastal Discovery Museum on the island is a great non-profit and Smithsonian Affiliate, dedicated to educating and protecting the natural resources, history, and ecosystems of the region. Their mission “inspires people to care for the Lowcountry,” through their many programs, exhibits, talks, and tours. What a great organization.

We’ve visited several times in past years but this year we did a Dolphin and Nature Cruise with the museum and really enjoyed it. And yes, we did see dolphins! The museum docent provided a dolphin skull replica and spoke about the anatomy, diet, and lifestyle of the local dolphins. The captain provided a rich tour of the history and nature of the island. Both the captain and museum docent were very knowledgeable and kept the passengers engaged for the entirety of the cruise. They even let each of the kids drive the boat for a few minutes!

My son driving the boat on the Dolphin & Nature Cruise.
My son driving the boat on the Dolphin & Nature Cruise. Photo by Marie Cullis.

Beach Trash

Hilton Head Island’s beaches are very clean and well-maintained. And there are both trash and recycling cans up and down the beach. Even so, I still picked up about 300 pieces of trash during my week there. Of course, I logged these through Litterati (see also my article on Litterati). My next article will be about the types of trash I found and what you can do to prevent beach trash and ocean pollution!

Thanks for reading, and please subscribe!