I saw a used diaper left behind on the beach today and my first thought was disgust and annoyance. How could someone leave a diaper behind instead of putting it in the garbage. My second thought was, so what are you going to do about it?
If I was honest, my first thought was just leave it. Its none of my business and aren’t there plenty of other diapers washed out to sea. But having read an article by David Susuki this morning that said it takes1000 years to break down a plastic bag, and birds have been found with 400 pieces of plastic in their stomachs, it made me think.
I walked back to my car, still tempted to just leave it. But then I wondered if I leave it there, am I being just as irresponsible as the person who left it there in the first place.
So I retrieved a plastic bag from the car, walked back down to the beach, picked up the diaper in the bag and dumped it in the garbage bin in the parking lot.
Its such a small thing, does it really matter? I guess I decided maybe it is small, but all these small things can add up. By doing my small part, it made the beach look better and maybe saved wildlife from eating industrial materials.
What would you do if you saw a used diaper lying on the beach?