The Plastic That Washes Up on Hawaii’s Beaches Affects Me. Personally.

A woman crouches on the beach, putting small pieces of trash into a plastic bag.

By Jennifer Lynch, a marine environmental toxicologist in NIST's Chemical Sciences Division

On the occasional weekend when I find myself avoiding house chores or lacking a social event, I wear out my 3-year-old daughter at Kualoa Regional Park, only 15 minutes from our home on the windward coast of Oahu. Yes, this is a major perk of living in Hawaii! There, the sun warms my skin, the breeze blows through my hair, and my daughter’s excited squeals pierce the relaxing sounds of the waves washing ashore. My daughter immediately starts making “snow angels” in the sand, chasing the water up and down the beach, and building sandcastles. I wish I could be as carefree as she is.

As a mom, I fret about her safety, covering her with sunscreen that won’t damage coral reefs, demanding that she wear her arm floaties, and reminding her to drink water. In between these duties, I find myself obsessed with another threat: the plastic trash that surrounds us on the beach. I struggle to ignore the urge to collect it. I would rather focus my attention on playing with my daughter, but there’s no way. I cannot gaze lazily at the turquoise horizon or close my eyes to relax. Instead, my angry eyes focus on the litter in the sand.