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Documenting trash in Miami Beach waterways Problems, Ramifications and Solutions
Research compiled by Dave Doebler
954-415-7434
• The objectives of this survey were to clean up and photo document the ‘catch’, as well as attempt to determine sources of trash in our waterways
• Every Sunday for 6 weeks, Dave completed a kayak cleanup of Collins Canal at the same time every week. Trash was picked up strictly from the kayak – no side cleanups.
• Paddle route started at Dade and Purdy (canal inlet) and continued 1.4 miles to Indian Creek and 23rd.
• Each cleanup took about 4 hours.
Collins Canal trash survey - Goals and Methodology
• There is a vast amount of human created trash in our waterways – Canal, Bay and Ocean.
• Trash originates from land, flows into the canals and bay, and then floats out into the ocean as the tides go in and out.
• Trash input is continuous, and never ending.
• The trash in our waterways is mostly plastic with a decomposition rate of hundreds of years.
• And, its contributing to flooding problems in Miami Beach
Key Findings:
Dave and his Kayak
1.4 miles
• Plastic shopping bags
• Plastic water soda bottles
• Cigarette butts
• Cigarette pack plastic wrappers
• Styrofoam Cups and food containers
• Bottle caps
• Straws
• Food bags (potato chips) and wrappers
• Aluminum cans
• Used fishing line thrown in the water
Commonly found trash in Collins Canal:
August 11, 2013 – Week 1
52 plastic bottles – mostly water 38 plastic shopping bags 18 styrofoam containers – mostly coffee cups 19 aluminum cans - mostly beer cans Significant volume : cigarette butts & plastic wrappers
August 18, 2013 – Week 2
36 plastic bottles – mostly water 41 plastic shopping bags 24 styrofoam containers – mostly coffee cups 13 aluminum cans - mostly beer cans Significant volume : cigarette butts and plastic wrappers
August 25, 2013 – Week 3
27 plastic bottles – mostly water 23 plastic shopping bags 11 styrofoam containers – mostly coffee cups 13 aluminum cans - mostly beer cans Significant volume : cigarette butts and plastic wrappers
September 1, 2013 – Week 4 Alternative location using net 23rd and Bayshore Drive.
Trash is everywhere in our waterways…
Filled an empty trash can within 45 minutes of cleaning using a net with 10 foot extension handle. Contents: Straws, plastic bottles, styrofoam, cigarette butts, plastic bags, cigarette pack wrappers.
September 8, 2013 – Week 5
37 plastic bottles – mostly water 39 plastic shopping bags 17 styrofoam containers – mostly coffee cups 20 aluminum cans Significant volume : cigarette butts and plastic wrappers
September 15, 2013 – Week 6
34 plastic bottles – mostly water 37 plastic shopping bags 24 styrofoam containers – mostly coffee cups 27 aluminum cans Significant volume : cigarette butts and plastic wrappers
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY– Trash clogs our storm drains!!
Storm drain on 22 and Washington COMPLETELY clogged. Only a trickle of water
flows out.
As I pull debris out, water starts flowing out at a significant rate.**August 25th 2013
Once removed, storm water flows freely
**August 25th 2013
Contents of storm drain blockage Plastic bottles Aluminum cans Plastic shopping bags Plastic cups and containers Coconut (which I cannot remove)
Another Clogged storm drain
Storm drain on 18th and Washington COMPLETELY
clogged. No water flows out. Trash packed so tight, the drain
cannot be cleaned.
This street probably floods.
West Avenue and 19th Street
Clogged storm drains can’t function as designed, leading to flooding
Water remains all day with nowhere to go
MORNING 7:53 amSeptember 18, 2013
(High Tide is at 8:54am)
EVENING 7:39 pmSeptember 18, 2013
(High Tide is at 9:16pm)
West Avenue at 13th
More examples on West Avenue of drains that do not allow water to flow out
MORNING 7:53 am - September 18, 2013 - (High Tide is at 8:54pm)
Storm drains lack a mechanism to PREVENT trash from going inside and getting stuck
Where does it go?
How is it cleaned?
What happens if the drains are not cleaned frequently?
Is this water backup due to trash clogging the drain?
Size of new grating has serious implications
New storm water outlets have more spacing in the grates.
This prevents blockage, but allows free flow of garbage straight out to
the canal / bay.
Is this really the solution?
Trash collects on the side of the road on the canal banks of
Dade Blvd during LOW Tide.
Street Level
Trash
Sea Wall Line
Low Tide Water Line
High Tide Water Line
At high tide, as the water rises, this trash is carried out to sea
Plastic bags are a HUGE problem
Plastic bags snagged on tree branches
Publix Bag Walgreens Bag
Plastic bags are a HUGE problem
Plastic bags float inches beneath the water surface.
Notice the irony of a plastic bag with pictures of Dolphins.
1 Million plastic bags were collected from Florida’s waterways in 1 day
Source : Ocean Conservancy : http://www.oceanconservancy.org/our-work/international-coastal-cleanup/2012-ocean-trash-index.html
*2012 International Coastal Cleanup Stats
Negative effects of trash our waterways• TOURISM : Visitors come to Miami Beach for beautiful sands and water life
(swimming, boating, fishing, etc). When visitors go kayaking, surfing, or to the beach, they see a trash filled mess.
• FLOODING : Clogged storm drains prevent water from flowing into the canal / bay. There is supposed to be ‘cleaning’ of the traps, but is that frequent enough?
• FOOD CHAIN : This is a risk to the food chain. Small creatures ingest small plastics, larger creatures eat those small creatures or plastic pieces, and we eat those larger creatures.
• ANIMALS : Sea life often mistakes trash as food, and it blocks digestive systems –killing the animals. Turtles confuse plastic bags as jellyfish. Manatees eat sea grass that has small bits of plastic bags. Birds eat bottle caps thinking they are small fish.
• SAFETY : Trash in the water creates a safety issue for boaters
Sources of this trash? • Non-bio-degradable plastic bags given by stores by default in mass
quantities (even with one item). No comprehension of the consequences.
• People throwing trash on the ground / not in a garbage can• Cigarette smokers throwing plastic wrapper and butts on the
ground• Inconsistent placement of garbage cans• Trash cans without lids that prevent wind blowing trash out• Plastic bags become Urban Tumbleweeds• Plastic waste goes down the drains and out to the waterways• Inefficient cleaning schedule of storm water drain traps to prevent
clogging and overrun of traps.
Solutions must focus on 5 key areas
People Proper Disposal Capture Clean-upTrapping
Areas to focus• PEOPLE
• Education that litter on the ground becomes litter in our oceans
• Reduce consumption of non-biodegradable single useplastics
• PROPER DISPOSAL• Proper placement of trash cans - “can on every corner”• Trash cans lids that prevent wind blowing trash out
• CAPTURE• Proper gratings that keep objects from flowing into the
drains
• TRAPPING• Effective filtration system and proper cleaning of traps
• CLEANUP• Clean the canals / waterways as we do the streets
EDUCATE• Educational campaign around Littering and cleaning up after yourself (signage at the beach
and on pedestrian walkways). • Educate public that cigarette butts are not bio-degradable and are litter!• Storm Drain ‘Graffiti’ to relay educational message that the drain leads to the waterway
REDUCE • More re-usable bag campaigns – work with Publix, etc.• Require Bio-Degradable bags, straws, cups at take out restaurants. (paper, biodegradable
plastic). If we cannot ‘mandate’, then we can ‘supply’ discounted bio-bags to businesses that tout ‘This Business is environmentally friendly’.
• Set up water bottle refill stations on Lincoln Road (inexpensive attachments to existing Fire Hydrants) to reduce use of single-use plastic bottles
ENFORCE• Enforcement of existing litter laws and citing people who throw trash / cigarettes on the
ground. (In 2010, the City of Miami Beach Police reported ZERO citations for littering). • Zero Litter Policy. Rio De Janeiro recently implemented significant fines to reduce trash and
save city dollars) http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-politics/rio-lixo-zero-to-impose-fines-for-littering/
It starts with People
People - Educate
Best Practices from other Cities
Best Practices from other CitiesPeople – Reduce
Fire Hydrant Drinking Fountains
Denver Major European City
• Review trash can placement – quantity and placement of cans is severely lacking. City should place trash can on every corner and create a “Can on every corner” campaign.
• Ensure trash cans have proper lids to prevent contents from blowing out
Proper Disposal“Can on Every Corner”
• Better grating to keep materials from going into the drains.
• Marking street gutters with ‘No DUMPING – Drains to waterway
Capturing at the streetInnovative solutions exist
• Better cleaning schedule of traps
• Better design of traps and ‘catch bin’ at the water output
Trapping and Cleaning catches debris and keeps it out of the water
• We need more consistent clean-up of all waterways. We have a ‘contractor’, but what is the frequency? Accountability?
• Have a Monthly ‘Go Clean Up Your Neighborhood’ day where we encourage people to clean their neighborhood
• Adopt-a-Waterway - http://www.ci.miami.fl.us/news/Adopt-a-Waterway/index.asp
• Volunteer ‘Citizen Corps’? CMB supplies kayaks and cleanup materials, volunteers go cleanup.
Clean Up - Last resort
- Thank You -
Documenting trash in Miami Beach waterways Problems, Ramifications and Solutions
Research compiled by Dave Doebler
954-415-7434
