Ok… this all takes some time to collate and cross-check and data entry is not my jam, but the numbers for last weekend’s Tacoma Shoreline Survey are finally counted and put in their places. It’s not a complete count; plenty of people were out cleaning the beaches without submitting information about what they found. There’s always room for improvement when it comes to data but at least the trash got taken off the beach, whether we ended up tallying it or not. With that in mind, we should look at these numbers as being on the lower end of what was actually collected.

Cigarette Butts – 1191
Balloons – 21
Toys – 9
Plastic Bags – 23
Food Wrappers – 57
Containers (Plastic) – 51
Containers (Foam) – 19
Beverage Cans – 67
Bottle Caps (Plastic) – 78
Bottles (Plastic) – 135
Bottles (Glass) – 34
Cups/Plates – 8
Lids – 23
Straws – 14
Utensils – 7
Plastic/Foam Pieces – >1280
Personal Hygiene – 17
Other Packaging – 22
Gloves/Masks (PPE) – 18
Bottle Caps (Metal) – 16
Strappping Bands – 19
Construction Materials – 46
Tires – 3
Other Tobacco (Lighters, etc) – 9
Other Trash – 457

187 Volunteers
835 pounds of trash removed

That’s it until next year. To those of you who took the time and made the effort to get out there and clean up our city, thank you. It was the biggest turnout so far and after the year we all just lived through, it was also a much-needed opportunity to reconnect and get face-to-face instead of living virtually. Thanks to all for making it work!