Save The Bay Communications Team Intern

Take-out food containers make dinner on the beach easy, but they also threaten the health of Narragansett Bay when left behind.

Save The Bay’s Warwick Summer Cleanup Series has removed many food and beverage containers, including Dunkin Donuts’ orange straws and Del’s Lemonade cups, from Warwick’s beaches this summer. And, during last year’s International Coastal Cleanup, volunteers in Rhode Island collected more than 10,000 food wrappers, 16,500 bottles and cans, 3,500 plastic bags, 2,500 take-out containers, and 4,700 plastic straws. These things make our beaches ugly and unsanitary and pose dangers to marine life. We can do better.

The statistics of takeout litter on local beaches may be disheartening, but the solution to the problem is simple: leave local beaches just as we found them, by taking our trash with us. In other words, carry out what we carried in. After all, in Rhode Island, our beaches belong to all of us, so just like our own homes, it is our responsibility to care for and protect them for generations to come. Carrying out our carry-out protects wildlife, keeps litter out of our waters, and keeps local beaches beautiful.

How? Most takeout meals come in a plastic bag that’s perfect for serving as a trashbag for our napkins, wrappers, straws, cups and leftovers. Simply put your trash into the bag, tie it up and take it home with you, and dispose of it there, leaving the beach free of waste that can attract rodents and other scavengers, or be blown into the water to be mistaken for food by marine life. Another great idea: bring your own paper or recyclable bag to the beach to use as a trash bag. And if you smoke, remember to bring a bottle or can to use as a portable ash tray that goes home with the rest of your trash.

Critics of a carry-in/carry-out approach often cite a lack of trash cans on public beaches as a reason for littering. But the absence of a trash can should serve as a reminder that we are responsible for our own waste. In fact, many parks and beaches have good reasons for their carry-in/carry-out policies. It avoids the unpleasant smells and messes associated with dumpsters, increases public safety by reducing the number of bees, wasps and other pests in the area, improves the health of wildlife by reducing their dependency on trash as a food source, and can free up resources to invest in other improvement programs.

So the next time you’re taking your Iggy’s goodies to enjoy at the edge of surf and sand, remember to bag up and pack out anything left over. It’s your beach, after all, yours and all the other folks who enjoy Rhode Island’s incomparable seaside beauty.