Shifting Sands in Rhode Island

A wide array of beach trash found on Napatree Point, from balloons and ribbons to Styrofoam, cellophane, nylon rope, bottle caps and a hypodermic needle. Waves break plastic into tiny particles that mix into beach sand and are ingested by marine life. Photography courtesy of Robert L. Mitchell

It’s easy to overlook the detritus along Rhode Island’s shoreline, but as the amount of beach litter has increased over the last few years, its effect on seabirds, seals, fish and other wildlife has risen dramatically.

Between 2011 and 2023, the Mystic Aquarium animal rescue program admitted fifty-eight seals into rehabilitation due to entanglements.

“Between 2024 and 2025, we have already passed that number, with fifty-nine entangled animals reported in just a year and a half,” says MaryEllen Mateleska, the aquarium’s senior director of education and conservation.

During an early summer walk at Watch Hill’s Napatree Point, much of the litter wasn’t noticeable at first because it had been ground down into little pieces along the high-tide mark. So it came as a surprise when my wife and I, after picking up everything we could find on a milelong stretch of sand, came away with a grocery bag full of trash. Most of it wasn’t whole bottles or cans, but micro trash — bits of things that had been pulverized by the surf.

Our haul included fifty-seven pieces of cellophane, twenty-five balloons (many with ribbons attached), twenty-four bottle caps, twenty-four pieces of nylon rope and netting fragments, twenty-four hard plastic fragments and ten cigarette butts (the plastic-based filters are not biodegradable). We also picked up fishing line, rubber lobster claw bands, tin foil, a shoe heel, one plastic bottle, one toothpaste tube and a syringe — all in the off-season.

“We are seeing more smaller plastic particles make their way to the beach,” says Mateleska.

The litter accumulates from trash left on the shoreline, refuse that blows in from cars, bins and local roadways, and garbage that travels to the ocean by way of rivers. Waves then break down the plastics into smaller pieces of micro- and nanoplastics.

“Plastic pollution is incredibly dangerous to aquatic species,” she says. Fish and other animals ingest the microplastics and can become entangled in ribbons, nets and fishing lines. Other items that entangle wildlife include six-pack ring holders, hair ties, fishing line, netting or pieces of netting, fishing lures, hooks and plastic bags.

Sea birds are especially vulnerable because they use those bits of fishing line, rope, string and other materials to build their nests. Balloons, in particular, are deadly to seabirds, which often mistake them for jellyfish or other prey.

“Plastics are now in every ecosystem, almost every seabird, and almost every human body,” Mateleska says, with the long-term health impacts unknown.

They also take an extremely long time to break down, which is harmful to the state’s delicate coastal ecosystem.

“[Plastic] material that is in the environment may present itself on a shoreline very far away many years or decades later,” says Dave McLaughlin, sustainability coordinator at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

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What You Can Do

Beach walkers can help by picking up garbage wherever they go to enjoy the outdoors. But you don’t have to go to the beach to help. Better management of beach trash starts at home, Mataleska says.

“Refuse single-use plastics and look for sustainable alternatives, pick up trash wherever and whenever you see it, and support legislation that stops plastic at the source,” she advises.

Volunteer for coastal cleanups, use reusable materials, carry in and carry out your trash, recycle, and don’t litter. And consider joining a nonprofit group such as those sponsored by Coastodians (coastodians.org) or Save the Bay (savebay.org) that organize beach cleanups. When it comes to beach trash, even small groups can make a big difference.