It is often said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I don’t know that we necessarily expect different results by conducting stream and watershed cleanups over and over because we expect to find trash and we become happy or even concerned if we go back to a known location over time and see less trash. It leaves us wondering, “where did the trash go, now?” So maybe this endless cycle of cleanups means we are more insane for not expecting different results!!
But, one thing is becoming more clear, our trash is following our water cycle! There have even been recent reports of microplastics being identified in rain water, indicating plastics are possibly falling out of the atmosphere during rainfall.
So, despite our best efforts to clean up at least some of our streams and watersheds, we continue to find more trash, meaning the cleanups are just part of the cycle and not directly addressing the trash problem. Meanwhile, the trash and plastic problems in the oceans persist and grow.
Trash in waterbodies is not assessed and regulated in most states. However, over 200 individual water body reaches in 7 states including Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, and New York have been listed as impaired for trash, debris or floatables since 1996. But, most states or localities have little accounting for how much trash is being accumulated in streams or the efforts underway and costs to clean up trash out of streams.
Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol
A new effort is underway to standardize how we conduct cleanups and account for the trash that is found through the Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol. The Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol was created by the Trash Free Waters Program (TFW) of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). A pilot project, featured in the May 2019 EPA Newsletter The Flow…of Trash Free Waters, is currently underway on Three Mile Creek in downtown Mobile, Alabama using the Litter Gitter system and the Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol to collect data about the trash found in the creek and provide feedback on the protocol.
DRAFT Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol (ETAP)
The protocol follows a 4-step process:
Step 1: Site Selection – In this step you will select a site and identify specific boundaries for your cleanup and study.
Step 2: Site characterization and cleanup – In this step you will identify your landuses, existing trash condition, existing preventative measures for trash management, and distance to waterbody. You will conduct a cleanup and catalogue the trash using the datacard.
Step 3: Data Entry and Analysis – In this step you will enter and analyze your data to better understand and describe the trash, conditions, and metrics from your cleanup.
Step 4: Adaptive Management – Propose adaptive management strategies to address localized trash problems.
Benefits of a standardized method
The benefits of having and following a standard protocol are numerous to watershed management.
- The methods can be implemented across all environments.
- Results can be compared across states and watersheds.
- Watershed organizations can use the data to prioritize areas for adaptive management or to implement BMPs rather than endlessly expending resources on conducting cleanups.
- Data can be visualized and explained to the public and other stakeholders.
- Long-term data can be collected and analyzed in a methodical way to determine trends of a specific area over time.
- Upstream and Downstream data can be used to identify inputs of trash or to analyze effectiveness of implemented BMPs.
To learn more about efforts to reduce trash, visit Trash-Free Waters at https://www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters
