Many people are still unaware of the way their actions affect our waters. Understanding the dynamics of stormwater runoff and how we can avoid polluting, is the first step to change. Use your business as an opportunity to grow awareness and education among your staff.
Despite years of industry regulations, litter ordinances, and educational advancements, our area's waters continues to be threatened by a variety of pollutants. While no single government, business, or organization keep our waters clean, together, as we all do our part, we can create a clean water future.
Over the 35 history of the International Coastal Cleanup, volunteers have removed over 344,521,233 Pounds of litter from beaches and waterways around the world. The top-ten list of items removed includes items like plastics bottles, plastic bottle caps, aluminum cans, cigarette butts, derelict fishing gear and a range of disposable plastic goods and food packaging. (Ocean Conservancy, 2021)
While it's difficult to say exactly how much plastic is in the ocean, scientists think about 8 million metric tons of plastic trash are in our oceans. This plastic pollution makes our waters unsafe and unsightly (NOAA. 2017)
Degraded plastics recovered from Dauphin Island by Caitlin Wessel
Include our short PSA clips at safety video showings or play our different videos on your break room TV's. You can download them on our Resources Page
Share an action from this website to your staff in regular newsletters. Just copy and paste a tip into your message.
Educate employees about the problems caused by loose trash blowing out of trucks and boats. Use the free digital package of PEP’s Trash Blows! Stow It! resources to use for engaging your employees and customers in reducing truck trash and litter. The digital package includes a flyer, poster, and yard sign.
Going green can be a daunting process for many small businesses. By creating a sustainability plan, your business can adopt changes over time and eventually see the results on the bottom line. Think of it as a strategic plan for sustainability.
Volunteer, place-based grassroots groups are committed to creating a clean water future for their communities. Through water quality monitoring, education and outreach, and assessment.
When water rushes off hardened surfaces, erosion of sediments degrade water conditions and smother and disrupt seagrass growth and the habitat for benthic organisms they provide.
Compounds like oil, grease, and heavy metals take a long time to break down and threaten the health of both aquatic and human life.
Litter is not only unsightly, but it also causes a variety of problems to the ecosystem as it enters our waters where it is often is mistaken for food by fish and invertebrates.
Too much fertilizer, pet waste, and other nutrients in our water often lead to serious problems like lowering dissolved oxygen levels, preventing seagrass growth, and killing fish.
Disease-causing microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and other single-celled organisms, are referred to as pathogens, some, like Salmonella, cause human health problems.
While pesticides are designed to be toxic to certain organisms, they can often be harmful and kill other species in the marine system that are important for the entire ecosystem.