In today's society, many issues have come up due to pollution concerning the ocean and its incredible amounts of trash. Many species of marine life are going extinct due to the excessive amounts of trash and other animals are on the verge of dying from the pollution as well. Although this is a very bad issue today, there are many ways to combat water pollution, and one of the most effective ways is participating in beach cleanups. 

Water pollution is a very big issue in the world today, and it is important to understand and break down what it actually is. First of all, water pollution is divided into two different categories, land-based and ocean-based pollution. Land based pollution contains all of the trash littered on the beach, trash in the ocean brought by wind, or finds its way to the ocean through run-off. Examples include plastic bags, straws, food wrappers, and just about anything else used on a daily basis. Ocean-based pollution is the dumping of trash in the sea by ships and debris that are left from fishing. Some examples are fishing nets, hooks, and many other sorts of fishing materials. The biggest polluters are one-use items, and humans use millions of these items on a daily basis. Unfortunately, these items cover many beaches around the world, and cause issues for marine life. Furthermore, beaches being covered by trash especially causes issues for sea turtles. This is because sea turtles lay their eggs on beaches and then their young make their way back to the ocean after they hatch. Instead, they are faced with obstacles of trash and are unable to safely make it back or even make it back to the ocean at all because of the trash that prevents them from getting there. With our beaches being covered by trash, not only are sea turtles suffering, but many other creatures are suffering as well. Overall, many animals and ecosystems are dying from water pollution, especially from land based pollution on beaches that will soon end up in the ocean.

Since water pollution is a big issue in the world today, I think that schools can help with the issue by doing beach cleanups for school. Participating in beach cleanups can really help reduce the amount of trash that ends up in the ocean, and if many organizations and schools participate in beach cleanups, it can reduce the amount of trash in the ocean by a lot. First of all, the cleanups would not be mandatory, but each person should try and participate at least once a year. Each grade would have a list where they would sign in, and each grade would have garbage bags to put their collected trash in. Once the clean up is over, each of the grades bags would be weighed, and whoever has the most trash weighed would win a prize or certain title. For example, if the school were Mount Carmel, the prizes could be spirit points or dress down days. School students make up about 25% of America's population, and if we try and persuade these students to help clean up beaches, the trash on beaches will reduce immensely. Enforcing schools to participate in beach clean ups will reduce the amount of trash in the oceans and help save the ecosystems already being destroyed from the water pollution issue. 

The idea of having schools participate in beach clean ups reduce water pollution immensely because the trash on the beach is no longer going into the ocean and also because students will see how trash affects the environment. Since, many students would be cleaning up the beaches, a lot of the trash would not end up in the ocean. This would decrease the amount of deaths of marine life due to certain items of trash. Therefore, ecosystems would not have to deal with the overwhelming amounts of trash in the ocean. Also, since the beaches would be clean and trash free, sea turtles would be able to lay their eggs on the beaches without having to deal with the trash that could possibly hurt or kill them. Secondly, many students do not see how their actions of littering and buying certain products can affect the environment, so cleaning up beaches will help put that in perspective. Students will see how many one-use and non-biodegradable  items are a major water pollution issue, and try to find other alternative ways that will help them avoid the use of one-use and non-biodegradable items. Some examples of items that could replace these items are reusable cups, metal straws, and reusable shopping bags. Also, cleaning up beaches will help students understand the importance the issue of water pollution is, and influence them to start other ways they can help save the oceans. Having students clean up beaches can help reduce the amount of trash in the ocean drastically because the trash will be recycled and not end up in the ocean and it will put into perspective how trash affects the environment and influence students to change their actions. 

Water pollution is a large issue in the world today, and can be combated in a variety of ways, one of the most effective being participating in beach clean ups. Since students in school make up about one-fourth of America's population, schools should enforce the idea of having beach cleanups. Students cleaning beaches would help the amount of trash in the ocean change drastically, and also help put into perspective how daily activities can affect the earth. Showing students the effects of their decisions will influence students to want to protect the environment and form habits that will benefit them and the ecosystems around them. In conclusion, having schools enforce students to participate in beach clean ups will reduce the amount of trash in the ocean today and also prevent the issue of water pollution from becoming worse in the future.