86% of All Items Collected at 2023 Beach Cleanups Were
Single-Use Plastics
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.,
July 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Surfrider Foundation's 2023
Beach Cleanup Report exposes our society's growing yet unnecessary
dependence on single-use plastic foodware, the threat it poses to
our ocean, and how Surfrider's policy and programmatic activists
are tackling this issue head-on. This report also highlights
Surfrider's cleanup efforts across 200 chapters and student clubs
nationwide and reveals the items most often collected during
Surfrider beach cleanups.
We cannot simply beach clean our way out of
this mess — we have to turn off the tap of single-use plastic
production.
Surfrider's Beach Cleanup program focuses on ocean and coastal
trash, primarily caused by rampant plastic pollution, through
organized community action – engaging over 34,000 volunteers across
985 cleanups to remove 225,000 pounds of trash along our nation's
coastlines last year. Additionally, the Beach Cleanup program
supports public education efforts and, by itemizing what is picked
up, provides the underlying data needed to bolster Surfrider's
plastic pollution advocacy campaigns.
Surfrider's beach cleanup data confirms once again, year after
year, that plastic pollution is everywhere. Although Surfrider
activists are working tirelessly to protect our ocean, waves, and
beaches, we cannot simply beach clean our way out of this mess
without large-scale legislative interventions and industry
innovations to rapidly shift away from single-use plastic
products. Only by turning off the tap of plastic production can
we ensure that our sustainable vision for a plastic-free,
climate-friendly future becomes a reality.
Beyond Beach Cleanups
Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Restaurants (OFR) program is
exemplifying what a plastic-free future can look like – one meal at
a time. The OFR program recognizes restaurants' commitment to
eliminating single-use plastics and provides a simple,
straightforward framework to help owners make sustainable choices
and achieve operational best practices to better protect our ocean.
This includes an Ocean Friendly Foodware Guide to help restaurants
avoid greenwashing and source more sustainable foodware options. In
2023, 540 OFRs in 28 states and Puerto
Rico served more than 36 million meals free of single-use
plastics!
Surfrider and our partners are also making great strides through
"Skip the Stuff" policy advocacy. These bills aim to change
consumer expectations of takeout and delivery orders by requiring
customers to opt in rather than automatically receiving disposable
foodware. Given that 98% of all U.S. takeout or delivery meals
are consumed at home or a workplace, where reusable cutlery is
readily available, these "Skip the Stuff" bills not only
protect the environment but save restaurants money as well,
reducing the massive $20
billion they collectively spend on single-use items
across the country each year.
ABOUT SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit grassroots organization
dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world's ocean,
waves, and beaches for all people through a powerful activist
network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in
Malibu, California, the Surfrider
Foundation now maintains more than a million supporters, activists,
and members, with over 200 volunteer-led chapters and student clubs
in the U.S., and more than 800 victories protecting our coasts.
Learn more at surfrider.org.
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SOURCE Surfrider Foundation