This month as part of our give back initiative our team decided to donate our time in our community and created a local beach clean-up. Trash has always been an issue in our coastal communities and we all noticed an influx of trash in our neighborhoods and on our beaches from take away food containers from recent restaurant restrictions due to COVID-19 and limited city resources. We wanted to help make a difference so we donated an hour of our work day and cleaned our beach and boardwalk while also encouraging others to join in.

Our team was more than happy to spend a morning out on the beach mid-week but what we found more encouraging was how many passersby’s said thank you. A little effort goes a long way and we also encouraged them to join in, a simple walk down the beach or to your favorite coffee shop can easily be taken as an opportunity to help out our environment.

The most frequent items our team came across were cigarette butts, to-go food containers, straws and disposable masks. Seeing these repeated items being littered is an important reminder of how being mindful of what we use and how we dispose of single use items is an important step in taking care of our world and oceans for future generations.

Getting creative with single use items and repurposing them into reusable items is one way our team has committed to resolving this problem. A personal favorite is up-cycling glass jars for candles or empty food containers for on the go snacks.

Are there any creative ways you re-use single use items? Let us know in the comments!