Red Bucket Challenge: Beach Clean-up Action On Cigarette Pollution

Red Bucket Challenge: Participate and Help Clean-Up Magnificent Beaches Around The World From Small Trash, Cigarette Butts & Other Litter Pollution

People need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat. So do all other living creatures on the planet. So does marine life. Regretfully it is the marine life that was neglected the most in the past decades: their home was literally used as a garbage dump. Just look at those photos of jellyfish stuck in plastic bags, turtles disfigured by plastic bottle holder rings, birds dying of poisoning by cigarette butts they mistook for food, it is evident: plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues. Red Bucket Challenge to help clean up beaches and oceans of litter and cigarette butts pollution is my personal response.

But how am I supposed to explain these things to my 4 yo? As we, yet again, watch our favorite “A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Escape from Paradise” (strongly recommend it by the way), I can tell that my toddler is both impressed and terrified by some of the images of ocean pollution. I can not lie: yes, my dear son, people did it. “But why, mommy?” …I can not close my eyes to the issue either. I may not be able to answer his “why” question, but I am damn right going to do everything I can to fix it.

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Red Bucket Challenge - Ocean Beach Cleanup Action - Cigarette Pollution PN

Red Bucket Challenge – The Origins

The Red Bucket Challenge ocean litter pollution clean-up idea was born on our latest visit to Varadero, Cuba.

We’ve always enjoyed our travels to Cuba. On the last trip, however, we’ve discovered that the magnificent beach of Varadero that is famous for its crystal clear turquoise waters and soft white sand is no longer clean. Yes, there is a problem with single-use plastic cups and straws that Cuban resorts dispense their beachside drinks in. But the biggest problem is with smoking and cigarette butts literally everywhere.

Sand beaches cigarette butts invisible pollution — Sand Beach Cigarette Butts Pollution is [almost] invisible

Sand beaches cigarette butts invisible pollution - detected — Beach Cigarette Butts Pollution – DETECTED

Environmental Lesson and Action

Nevertheless, we’ve taken the sad situation with Varadero beach pollution for an opportunity to teach our 4yo son an environmental lesson about the need for the ocean clean-up.

Instead of collecting seashells, every day we’ve taken his red sand bucket and walked around the beach fishing out and collecting cigarette butts out of the sand. We’d pick the full bucket, and throw the butts into hotel-provided garbage bin each day. I was explaining to my little one how this trash is dangerous and showing photos of the internet how birds are eating it. Cosmos got really fond of this “game” and was super-proud doing the clean-up.

Fourth days after, another family next to us, with two girls ages 4 and 6, asked to borrow the red sand bucket, and they too searched the beach around them for cigarette butts, throwing them into the garbage and teaching kids about the ways to address ocean litter pollution.

Overall during our stay, we’ve probably cleaned more than two dozen full red sand buckets of cigarette butts.

…and that’s how Red Bucket Challenge was born.

RED BUCKET CHALLENGE

Since you are reading this, I challenge YOU to partake in the beach clean-up.

Step 1. Get a Bucket

Pick a bucket, container, jar – anything.

It must be 500ml or larger.

Your container can be of any colour. Red Bucket Challenge is called this way, not after the colour of the original bucket we used that was indeed was red, but to represent an “emergency” situation.

Step 2. Go to the Beach

oceans clean from litter pollution are a beautiful sight!

It doesn’t matter whether you are at a sunny resort somewhere in Mexico, Cuba, Hawaii or Thailand, or at the icy shores of Alaska or Beautiful British Columbia.

It doesn’t matter if you are next to an ocean, a lake or a small creek. You do not have to be by the water at all! Just get outside!

Step 3. Clean-up

When at the beach and start the clean-up. Collect your bucket full of little trash.

Red Bucket Challenge: Clean-up Magnificent Beaches Around The World From Small Trash, Cigarette Butts & Other Litter Pollution to Help Our Oceans.

Although it is important to remove larger trash items as well, the goal of the Red Bucket Challenge is to recover the smallest of the litter. Cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps, candy wrap, single-use plastic straws – everything must go!

Plastic's timeline to decompose is 500-1000 years, by the way… and cigarette butts are one of the most toxic things that can happen to the ocean.

Small trash items like that are easily washed away by the tide, and once they made it into the ocean – almost impossible to recover. Fish, turtles, birds and other wildlife mistakes these to be food, with dire consequences. Check out the Web-Gallery by Chris Jordan, the famous photographer who captures what happens to birds eating plastics…

Effects of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution. Photo by Chris Jordan - Message From Gyre — Effects of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution. Photo by Chris Jordan – Message From Gyre

Step 4. Take a Photo

Take a photo of your Red Bucket Challenge and post it on social media – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook – anything works! Use hashtags #RedBucketChallenge #OceanPollution #PerfectDayToPlay #BlueOceanWatch

Step 5. Properly Dispose

Take your bucket to a local specially designated garbage bin and dispose of the collected trash in a proper manner.

Step 6. Challenge Others

Post the photo of your Red Bucket Challenge beach clean-up on social media – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook – anything works!

Use hashtags #RedBucketChallenge #PerfectDayToPlay #BlueOceanWatch

Tag your location, and tag us!

Tag & Challenge at least 5 of your friends to help fight ocean litter pollution. The more friends you challenge, the better!

Global Anti-Plastic Pollution Movement

There are, of course, many organizations around the world that drive anti-plastic movement and aim at addressing ocean litter pollution issues, on global and on a local scale. If you are interested in joining or supporting any of them, the below list is a great place to start:

If you want to see Change in the World, you have to BE THE CHANGE.

There are many ways in which you can help fight ocean litter pollution.

If you are a smoker, help reduce beach pollution by properly dispose of your cigarette butts using designated trash cans. Please do NOT put off your cigarette butts into the sand leaving it there for the tides to grab…

Whether you enjoy relaxing by the water, snorkeling, diving, surfing or taking an occasional boat ride, always clean up after yourself and never through trash overboard.

Embrace the Leave No Trace way of exploring and appreciating the ocean, do not interfere with wildlife, remove seashells and coral.

Go even further by encouraging others to respect the environment or by participating in local beach clean-ups.

Educate yourself and your kids on the challenges the oceans and marine environment are facing due to waste and plastic pollution. Here is a great starting point: Top Children’s Books On Environment: Teach Kids to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

TAKE ON THE RED BUCKET CHALLENGE. If each of us collects and takes away just one bucket of trash, collectively we'll make a huge difference. Each one bucket of trash potentially saves dozens of marine life habitats.

More on the topic of Sustainability Practices, Green Activities, and Eco Lifestyle:
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