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What’s the #1 Trash Item Collected at LIS Beach Cleanups?

Graphic showing the top 10 litter items in Long Island Sound as collected by volunteers in New York and Connecticut. Number 1 is cigarette butts, followed by food wrappers, plastic caps, metal caps, non grocery plastic bags, plastic bags, straws and stirrers, beverage cans, glass bottles, and plastic and foam packaging

Cigarette butts. As part of the annual #DontTrashLISound summer campaign, the Long Island Sound Study creates a list of the top 10 litter items collected in both states by volunteers at LIS beaches. Since 2015, cigarette butts have been the top category on the list of trash collected.

Every fall, volunteers from all over the world, including in Long Island Sound, conduct coastal cleanups and report their findings to the Ocean Conservancy as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. The cleanups around Long Island Sound are coordinated by the American Littoral Society in New York and Save the Sound in Connecticut.

The Long Island Sound Study also compiles data on the amount of trash in pounds at these cleanups and the total trash collected/per mile for the Marine Debris Ecosystem Target. There is also a Marine Debris by Category supporting indicator, which includes cigarette butts as a category.

Cigarette and cigarette filter found on the beach at Sandy Point State Park, Maryland. NOAA photo
Cigarette and cigarette filter found on the beach at Sandy Point State Park, Maryland. NOAA photo

What is the most commonly found ocean litter? (noaa.gov)

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