The Dirty Dozen Strikes Again

It was an uncharacteristically gray and foggy morning. Downright cold by Santa Barbara standards (I know we’ve all gone soft here.) In spite of these challenging conditions, fueled by Peet’s and Jack’s Bagels, a dozen Toads armed with gloves and bags once again descended on the estuary and lagoon where Mission Creek hits the beach, a stone’s throw from HT HQ.

There had been heavy rains and really big waves since our last clean up so we expected things to be pretty churned up and were anticipating some radical, conversation-generating trash. Reality is, Styrofoam continues to be the most prevalent, offensive trash. Spend a couple of hours picking Styrofoam bits out of beach rack and you’ll NEVER accept anything, ever in a Styrofoam container. Promise. Plastic bottle caps, plastic straws and anti-smoking inhalers were the next most common categories of unglamorous crap. A motor mount was the largest item in the haul, a lot of broken line confirmed how rough the seas had been. Tami scored a purple condom that was a frighteningly good match to her Velush hoodie. Who would have thought that the prophylactic industry was working from the same color palette as Horny Toad.

BREAKING NEWS: This article is getting posted as the Santa Barbara City Council is meeting to ban Styrofoam within the city. Our city would not be the first to do so. Although cheap and strong as a container, Styrofoam does irreparable damage to the creeks and oceans. Not only to the chunks get eaten by sea life, but microscopic bits will remain in our waters for years to come. Start a revolution to ban Styrofoam in your city! Get involved and make your voice heard at your local assemblies.