Save The Bay's RI ICC Report - Tiny Trash Adds Up
Tiny Trash Continues to be a Big Problem for Narragansett Bay and its Watershed
For 40 years, The Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup has organized volunteers around the world to collect trash from shores and record what they find. The data is published in an annual report that serves as a key resource for advocates working to reduce marine debris. This week, Save The Bay, as the Rhode Island State Coordinator, published its local report.
In 2025, 2,971 Rhode Island volunteers collected 117,396 total pieces of litter, weighing 15,561 pounds. The number one item collected was cigarette butts: 20,908 butts were collected, amounting to 18% of all items identified. Other top ten items included food wrappers (9,155), plastic bottle caps (7,732), plastic beverage bottles (6,964), beverage cans (4,229), and glass beverage bottles (3,731). Reflecting the prevalence of debris on our shores, “other” categories were also prominent: plastic/foam pieces less than 2.5 cm (14,020), and other plastic waste (10,970).
“The data reflects what we are seeing on our shores: lots of single-use items, beverage containers, and plastic and foam pieces caused by materials breaking apart over time,” says July Lewis, Save The Bay’s Volunteer & Internship Manager. “Trash on our shorelines is ugly and hazardous to people and wildlife. We do this project every year to highlight the problem and let people know, 'It’s Not OK to Trash The Bay!'”
Over the 40-year history of this project in Rhode Island, there have been changes in what volunteers find. “Early cleanups were more likely to find large items like tires, appliances, mattresses and even 55-gallon drums,” says Lewis. “We’ve made great strides in raising awareness about dumping and providing better ways for people to dispose of these items. However, small, light, single-use plastic items and cigarette butts continue to be found in large numbers, and the amount of pulverized plastic and foam pieces we find in the wrack line is truly alarming.”
Plastics do not decompose. Instead, they break down into smaller and smaller pieces that eventually end up ingested by marine life and people, or left to accumulate on the bottom of the Bay. These “microplastics” are found in plankton, arctic sea ice, and the gills and digestive tracts of the seafood we humans eat.
A new paper, "Comparing Field-based Microplastic Observations With Ocean Circulation Model Outputs in Estuarine Surface Waters Along a Human Population Gradient," by researchers at the University of Rhode Island, indicates that microplastics are accumulating in the northern part of Narragansett Bay, where a majority of Rhode Island’s population resides. It also highlighted that marshes trap 10 to 50 times more microplastics than seabeds.
“Volunteer efforts, like the International Coastal Cleanup, are extremely important in collecting litter and marine debris from the shoreline before it enters the Bay,” said Jed Thorp, Director of Advocacy for Save The Bay. “But we also need to adopt strong policies, like a bottle bill, that have been proven to reduce beverage container litter.”
“Trash on our shorelines is preventable, and everyone can make a difference,” said Lewis. “Step one is simply: don’t litter! You can join a cleanup, you can clean up your own neighborhood and you can inspire others to do the same. Finally, you can speak up about this issue and contact your legislators to tell them we need solutions.”
Save The Bay’s Rhode Island International Coastal Cleanup Report can be downloaded from Save The Bay’s website at savebay.org/publications. You can also view our 2025 ICC Recap video on YouTube. Those interested in learning more about Save The Bay’s shoreline cleanup program can visit the organization’s Volunteer Portal. You can also get involved in our ‘bottle bill’ campaign by visiting savebay.org/advocacy.
