FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By news release
Originally published 06:42 a.m., July 30, 2009
PALM CITY — Keep Martin Beautiful has re-launched its Monofilament Recycling Program throughout Martin County.
The program is available to all interested marinas and volunteer organizations that would like to participate by maintaining recycling receptacles at their facilities or adopted areas of beach or shoreline.
Mostly used for fishing line, monofilament is a durable, flexible, and non-degradable strand of plastic. Monofilament can last for up to 600 years in the water, and cause drowning due to entanglement, and the loss of flippers or tails for many kinds of marine wildlife. Every year in Florida, countless numbers of birds, fish, and even land animals suffer injuries directly related to entanglement caused by monofilament. Even boaters and divers can be put in danger from monofilament that is not discarded in the correct manner.
“Through this program, we aim to raise awareness of the multitude of adverse effects that improperly discarded monofilament can have on marine life,” KMB President Rhonda Irons said. “We also hope to reduce the amount of monofilament in our natural environment by making sure that it is disposed of properly.”
Keep Martin Beautiful will provide the monofilament recycling receptacles and signs, along with boxes used for shipping the collected monofilament to the recycling facility. There is no charge for these materials or to be involved in the program. The receptacles are typically placed throughout marinas or along beaches and shores.
Keep Martin Beautiful is a non profit, volunteer-based organization with goals to reduce and prevent litter and marine debris as well as to encourage beautification and community improvement efforts.
For anyone interested in participating in the Monofilament Recycling Program, please contact KMB at 772-781-1222, or e-mail info@keepmartinbeautiful.org.
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