Embracing Earth Month: The Transformative Power of Coastal Cleanups with Sheila from Life Essentials Refillery

Send us a text

Walking along the coastline, I've often felt a sense of responsibility for the scattered remnants of human leisure activities. It's a reminder that our enjoyment of nature comes with a duty to protect it. I'm Sheila, owner of Life Essentials Refillery, and this Earth Month, I'm taking that responsibility to heart by emphasizing the critical importance of coastal cleanups. Tune in as I discuss how small actions like picking up litter can create ripple effects across our ecosystems, ensuring safer habitats for marine life and more pristine beaches for us all. 

During our chat, I'll share firsthand experiences and the startling revelations that come from actively participating in beach cleanups. Let me tell you, it's more than just picking up trash—it's about witnessing the truth behind our environmental impact and fostering a healthier planet. From the immediate benefits to our coastal regions to the long-term advantages for our global community, this episode is an uplifting journey towards understanding and action. Join me in celebrating Earth Month with purpose, and remember to reach out to us at Life Essentials Refillery across all platforms as we strive to make a tangible difference—one piece of trash at a time.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, lovely listeners, and welcome to Zero
Waste Imperfectly.
I'm your host, sheila, and I amthe owner of Life Essentials
Refillery.
We have two locations now onein Weston Chapel and one in
South Tampa, florida.
It's Earth Month.
It's exciting.
Everywhere you look, people aredoing great things for the
planet, and some of you might bewondering why are we doing
things like a coastal cleanup?
So that's what I want to talkto you about today.

(00:20):
It's going to be short andsweet and we're going to talk
about why coastal cleanup andother cleaning events are
important for everybody.
So, first and foremost, it'sjust good you are helping.
If you go do a coastal cleanup,you are taking trash that is
going to end up in the oceanaway.
So that means you arepreventing all that litter from
going into the ocean andtangling animals.

(00:42):
You've seen the pictures onlinewith a sea turtle wrapped in
the plastic from a six-pack.
We're avoiding stuff like that.
We're avoiding the possibilityof everything breaking down into
microplastics and then weeventually ingest it.
So let's get rid of thisgarbage before it floats out
there.
So we are also protectingthings the entire ecosystem, the
beaches, the mangroves, thecoral reefs.

(01:02):
We're making sure everythingstays healthy by removing any
contaminants before it entersthe waterway.
Next thing is there's a lot ofthings that float into the ocean
that have harmful stuff in it.
Let's say it's I don't know acontainer of oil or sunblock or
who knows what else.
All these things are pollutantsand they are floating out into

(01:23):
the area that the critters live.
We don't want that.
We want to prevent that fromhappening.
So all of that is thefoundation of a cleanup.
You go, you take the trash out,you prevent it from going in
the waterways.
But there's other benefits too.
I have met people, and so inthe area that we live in,
plastic straws are no longerallowed at the beach and I have

(01:44):
heard so many people say I'venever seen a straw at the beach.
I don't know what the big fussis.
There are no straws at thebeach Until you actually
participate in an event or onyour own and mindfully walk the
beach.
That's right.
There is where you will seeexactly what's polluting and
littering our beaches, becausethere are straws at the beach.

(02:05):
There are lots of straws at thebeach and cigarette butts and
beer bottles and soda cans andlids for beer bottles, and you
name it.
You will find it if youparticipate in a coastal cleanup
.
So I highly recommend itbecause it is eye-opening.
And what's another benefit thatwe get from doing a coastal
cleanup?
Well, we get the clean beach.

(02:25):
There is nothing worse thanpeople coming to Tampa.
Well, here we're in Tampa area.
So people coming to our beachin Tampa and saying it was just
disgusting no one wants that.
We want people to come visitFlorida and say our beaches are
amazing, our water is clear, ourcoastal and marine life all
looks healthy, and we do that bypreventing all of this litter
from entering our waterways andliving in the sand.

(02:47):
We don't want that.
So we just visited a park herein Tampa it's off Gandy
Boulevard, or, yeah, gandy andthere was so much garbage that
there was no way that you couldwalk there or even encourage
your children to come with you,because you'd be afraid they'd
get hurt.
And that's just not what wewant.
We want all of that stuff outof there to protect everything
that lives there and protect thepeople that are going there.

(03:10):
So that is the spiel for why Ithink coastal cleanup is really
important.
So if you have the opportunityand there are a lot of cleanups
this month because it's EarthMonth participate in one Clean
up, or even on a regular basis.
If you go to the beach or outanywhere, pick up the trash, you
see, because eventually it doesmake its way to the water.
Well, happy Earth Month andthanks for listening, and you

(03:32):
can find us on all platforms atLife Essentials Refillery.
Have a great day.