Spring Wreck

Spring Breakers Wrecking Havoc on Beaches

As college spring breakers head to the beaches this month, many are taking to twitter to encourage picking up trash to keep the beaches clean. 

Research

According to the Chicago Tribune, nearly all college spring break destinations are at or near a beach. However, it is easy to see why college spring break partying is looked down upon by many people. The trash that is left on beaches (beer cans, liquor bottles, cigarettes, etc) is not only disgusting, but also incredibly dangerous to marine life animals. As soon as the tide rolls in, much of the trash is taken out into the sea where unknowing animals try to feed on the harmful items. Even if the trash does not make it to sea, creatures such as birds and turtles are still effected. 

Project Know studied the most popular spring break locations using the hashtag #SpringBreak. From this study, they learned that popular locations for college spring breakers see an increase in trash left behind. Because of this, many cities have begun to take initiative by creating new laws and regulations to demand the proper care of its beaches. Vice president of litter and affiliate relations at Keep America Beautiful gave a powerful quote, "Students come for the beauty of the beaches and they want it to be like that every year, but they forget that if they leave trash and debris behind, it won't stay that way."

Personal

I did not go to the beach a lot as a kid. Growing up in Sacramento, the nearest beach was about a two hour car ride away, making spontaneous beach trips non existent. When I would see pictures or watch movies about the beach, trash was never seen. My friends who went to the beach on vacation would never come home raving about all the trash they saw. 

Now when I go to the beach, the trash is hard to miss. Even if I'm there during the off season, trash is easily seen. I think the most frustrating is when I see trash NEXT TO the trash can. So close, but oh so far. I've always had a passion for wildlife and marine life, and the thought of any animal dying because someone was too lazy to take an extra step to get to a trash can is very irritating. I think people, especially college students, take the earth for granted. We haven't quite wrapped our heads around how unique the planet we live on is, which is why we don't treat it valuably. 

Hopefully from this post, people will have a better understanding of how crucial keeping the world's beaches clean is. 

Community Members

Cara Gonzales

"People who leave trash on beaches in general are ruining the earth. I think it is hard for people to understand just how sick it makes the animals."

Marissa Chavez

"I think it is selfish for spring breakers to leave their trash all over our beaches. They don't realize how much damage they're doing to the environment since they think of it as a place to party, not where people and animals live."

Jessica Gallagher

"I think spring breakers who leave trash on the beach are entitled students who get everything handed to them. They need to reevaluate the important things in life like our environment and the wildlife that gets affected directly by peoples' inconsiderate and careless actions."

Julius Pekari

"Beaches are only as clean as we keep them. If we all cleaned up after ourselves this wouldn't be an issue."

References

Karp, Gregory. "More than 50 Percent of College Students Plan Warm Spring Break."Chicagotribune.com. N.p., 02 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

Stone, Brianna. "Your Spring Break Partying Could Be Ruining the Beaches." USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.