Written By: Christina Mink
Revised By: Ru Xue Jiang
The AYLUS Dix Hills Branch works with the Friends of the Bay for environmental cleanup on February 11, 2023. AYLUS helped reduce the negative effects of pollution by helping pick up trash among the coast of Beekman Beach. We picked up glass, plastic, styrofoam, cigarettes, and much more. All the volunteers at the beach, a total of 250 pounds of garbage was collected!
Approximately 10 million tons of litter ends up in the ocean every year. The amount of trash ending up in the oceans is increasing every year, causing greater harm to the health of marine life. It can injure or kill marine creatures and debilitate marine habitats. Many sea creatures mistakenly eat trash, confusing it with food. The consumption of litter can cause intestinal blockage, loss of nutrients, and starvation. Sometimes creatures can get entangled in the trash.
This not only negatively affects the marine environment, but also humans in terms of navigational safety, the economy of the fishing industry, the quality of life in coastal communities, and human health. As more fish are killed off from pollutants, the fishing industry works to counteract pollution and fix damage from trash ramming ship propellers, followed by reduced tourism. This results in an exorbitant amount of money lost.
Many of the materials collected have been on the beach for long lengths of time, evident from the erosion and corrosion of glass or the tattering of plastic and cardboard. With the volunteering AYLUS Dix Hills has done at this event, we hope to make a strong impact on our community to prevent the damaging after effects of pollution from litter with our actions in environmental clean up.
Volunteers: Christina Mink (2 hours and 30 minutes), Ru Xue Jiang (2 hours and 30), Sara Kong (2 hours), Nadia Kong (2 hours), and Tom (haotian) Tang (1 hour and 30 minutes).
