Tsunami debris has been washing up on our beaches since September [about six months after it hit Japan’s coast]. But the worst is yet to come. Now, everytime there is a big storm, a huge surge of debris washes up on our shores. During regular beach cleanups, before this tsunami debris started arriving, we would pick up maybe 50 pounds of trash, usually left behind by beachgoers. But now, after a storm, we pick up several thousand pounds!

 

This is not your typical debris. There are a lot of plastic bottles with Japanese writing on them. We’ve found larger items, too, like a piece of a refrigerator. Further down south, another cleanup team found a whole dock. [Other large items found along the coast include boats and a container containing a Harley Davidson motorcycle, which was returned to its owner]. Most common, however, is Styrofoam, sometimes big pieces of it. This is difficult to clean up because it easily breaks into little tiny pieces, which are harder to pick out of the sand, and which will take years to break down. We recycle pretty much everything, except the Styrofoam, which is very hard to recycle.

 

 

 

We’re hoping to have some good storms this winter so that all the debris that’s sitting out in the middle of the ocean comes in quickly, instead of spreading out over who knows how many years. Right now, the government and several organisations are putting lots of funds into the cleanup. Though there are many volunteers, it’s expensive - you need supplies to gather and dispose of the trash. [Removing the dock cost the state of Oregon 85,000 dollars, or about 66,000 euros]. It’s especially expensive when debris washes up on remote beaches, which can require the use of helicopters as well as the help of experts to remove. We’re working hard to ensure we have enough volunteers to deal with all the debris that has yet to arrive. Everyone is welcome to help – you don’t have to be local; we’ve got many tourists joining us during cleanups, too.

 

I’ve been cleaning up our beaches for years now, and my main concern is keeping them pristine, but with the tsunami debris, there’s also this overwhelming feeling, realising how much people lost. Living in a coastal area, you think, this could happen to us, too. In fact, the Japan tsunami inspired my city to come up with a preparedness plan, so we know where to head if disaster hits, and where to find containers filled with food and supplies.