Whether on park trails or at the beach, if you’re like me, you often pick up random pieces of litter. Those seemingly insignificant remnants of human existence find their way into every nook and cranny of our planet, including our oceans.

I feel propelled by an urge to make a small difference when I stoop down to pick up these fragments, but a nagging doubt lingers in my mind – does it really matter in the grand scheme of things?

It does.

By picking up that piece of litter, you could save the life of a sea creature from being entangled and snuffed by the garbage our species so thoughtless discards. The closer debris is to our shoreline, the higher the chance it will wash into the ocean. More than 77 species of marine life have been identified as susceptible to and highly affected by marine pollution, including turtles, seagulls, whales, and dolphins. It is a stark reminder of our collective abuse and neglect of our planet.

This is why we host regular beach clean-ups. We want to do our part, and the more hands we have in action, the more we can protect our aquatic ecosystems from the harmful effects of pollution.

Even though Sealuxe hosts regular beach clean-ups (and we pick up garbage whenever we’re at the beach – which is a lot given its proximity to Sealuxe headquarters), we are always amazed at how much trash seems to magically appear overnight.

Plastic bags, drink cans, old clothing, plastic utensils, sunscreen bottles, straws, cigarette butts – you name it, we pick it up. Plastic bottles and plastic straws are terrible as they take more than 200 years to break down. Cigarette butts are poisonous and contaminate the water, leaching harmful chemicals toxic to fish and other small creatures.

When we host our beach clean-ups, it not only allows us to positively impact our oceans, but it’s a chance to spend time with some great company!

Check out our Ripple Effect beach-clean updates on our website. Hope to see you soon!