by Staff Report
Beach Watchers volunteers (from left) Tom Richards, Patti Huchins and Lin Folsom, all from Anacortes, and Tim Manns of Mount Vernon look for tiny pieces of plastic Wednesday on the beach at Rotary Park in Anacortes.
ANACORTES—Beach Watchers volunteers Wednesday joined forces with staff from the Port Townsend Marine Science Center Wednesday to survey two Fidalgo Island beaches.
The volunteers screened sand and gravel from the shoreline, looking for pieces of Styrofoam, plastic bags, cigarettes and other plastic trash. The discoveries made by the Beach Watchers, a Washington State University group aimed at training shoreline stewards, will be used by researchers at the marine science center.
Plastics don’t biodegrade but can break down into smaller pieces, which can harm animals if ingested, according to the science center. Plastic chemicals also can bioaccumulate and be consumed by people, resulting in health problems.
The science center is surveying several beaches in the Puget Sound to find out how much plastic is in the sand and gravel along the shoreline and how it affects the environment.
