Earth Day Trash Dive in Monterey
Humans aren’t exactly known for taking the best care of our land and sea, but a group in Monterey is giving the people here a round of applause. That’s because plastic and other trash are major issues for marine life. The Underwater Voyagers Dive Club says they’ve seen just about everything.
“I’ve found glass bottles underwater, I’ve had divers come up and find computers underwater,” said Maxwell Seal, Manager at Aquarius Dive Shop in Monterey.
“wrappers, candy bars, plastic bottles, cans, we’ve seen chunks of boats before. Pretty much if you see it on the street, you’ll find it in the ocean,” said David Deering, Diver at Underwater Voyagers Dive Club.
Oceans around the world are seeing an increase in toxic waste. Things are better in Monterey, but Del Monte beach is far from perfect.
“It’s really nice living in the Monterey area because a lot of the reefs around here aren’t too trashed, but this is one of the ones that probably receives the most trash throughout the year,” said Seal.
These divers were there for about an hour Sunday. This time, there was a welcomed surprise.
“Unfortunately [we didn’t find] too much but a couple of golf balls and some old rusty pieces of painted metal and plastic,” said Dustin Casey, Diver with Underwater Voyagers Dive Club.
Easy clean-ups like this are happening more often. People are doing their part to keep the coast clean year round, not just on Earth Day.
“Things are actually improving…thanks to a lot of beach clean up efforts that we’ve been having on the beach..which stops it from getting it in the ocean in the first place,” said Deering.
The dive club says not everyone needs to grab a bag and put on a wet suit. You can start small.
“Don’t use plastic straws or plastic bags like if you can just do two things make it those two things,” said Deering.
A few golf balls and some shards of plastic don’t seem like much, when coral reefs are going extinct and piles of trash are wading in the Pacific. However, this crew wants to remind people these efforts aren’t needed if we keep the ocean clean year-round.
