Where other people trying to enjoy the beach might look with disgust at the debris left behind by polluters, Jeannie Wokasch has overcome her disappointment with that segment of the population too careless to consider their impact on the planet and other living creatures.
"People go to the beach, get wasted and leave behind all their ‘floaties’ and trash. They just leave it on the beach, and I think, ‘Thank God, more material.’"
Three years ago she began converting those "floaties," her term for the inflatable toys that people leave on the beach and in the ocean, into eco-conscious beach and fashion bags, bracelets and other accessories.
In celebration of World Oceans Day on Saturday at the Waikiki Aquarium, Wokasch will show her creations, give them away and teach others how to recycle their beach findings.
The distance runner said she started her hobby one day when she was running and got caught in a sudden downpour. She needed to protect her cellphone and, looking down at the ground, saw a wealth of plastic bags.
Once she got home, she started thinking about the pollution problem.
"I wanted to send a message to the younger generation: ‘Hey, you know when you see something on the beach? Pick it up. You don’t want it to go into the ocean, and there’s always something you can do with that piece of material,’" she said.
She said the summer months bring a wealth of new material as Fourth of July revelers and summer travelers hit the beach with inflatables. Because they’re so inexpensive and unwieldy, most people opt not to bring them home.
"They just want to have fun, but they don’t think of the repercussions," she said.
Left in the ocean, the inflatables eventually disintegrate and can become part of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a mass of waste material caught up in rotating currents in the North Pacific Ocean. Estimates of its size range from 270,000 to 5.8 million square miles.
The danger of the plastic flotsam is as it degrades, it leaches toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A and PCBs. The items also disintegrate into small particles that can be ingested by birds and marine animals, and the chemicals can become concentrated as they make their way up the food chain.
"I’ve always been a do-gooder. I feel sorry for the turtles and other animals," Wokasch said. "People need to realize we need to take care of the earth for the younger generation."
Other activities at the aquarium on World Oceans Day include the screening of an ocean-themed Dr. Seuss film throughout the day; presentations from the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System on such topics as shark-tagging, ocean modeling and water quality; and an 11 a.m. "Honu by the Sea" performance.
Entry is included in the cost of aquarium admission.
The event is part of World Oceans Month, which includes the Kids First! Film Festival running Wednesday and June 19 and 26; art classes with nature artist Patrick Ching from 10 a.m. to noon June 22, 29 and July 6; and the Ke Kani o ke Kai summer concert series with John Cruz and Nathan Aweau on June 13 and KUmZ and Manu Boyd on June 27.
Concert tickets are $15 for ages 7 to 15 and $45 for adults, with discounts for Friends of Waikiki Aquarium members. More details can be found at www.waquarium.org.
