Imagine a beach with pink, purple and blue sand—resembling a plastic ball pit from a Chucky Cheese or McDonald’s playground. Though this might seem unrealistic, the day when tiny pieces of broken-down plastic replace the fine-grained sand made of shell and marine fossil may not be so far away, as suggested by Capt. Charlie Moore in a lecture given at the University of North Carolina Wilmington last week.

Moore, credited as the discoverer of the North Pacific Gyre and collaborative finder of four others (including one in the Atlantic near us) where currents merge to create, what he calls, a toilet bowl effect bringing all of our old junk (toothbrushes, plastic utensils, water bottles, etcetera) that were not properly disposed, into a concentrated place. They never fully break down.

In a classroom in downtown Wilmington, St. Mary’s fifth-grade teacher and co-owner of Indo Jax Surf School and the nonprofit, Ocean Cure, Kevin Murphy, stands in front of his students with a plastic grocery bag demonstrating just this.

He takes out his scissors and begins to cut the bag into pieces and then cuts those pieces into smaller ones and so forth, until the pieces are too small to cut anymore. Murphy illustrates photo-degradation, the process Moore is seeing in the ocean when he finds fish, birds and other marine life with ingested plastic in their systems, each animal carrying the traces of plastic forward through the food chain.

"Every piece of seafood we eat now has traces of petroleum in it," Murphy stated.

In an effort to educate beyond the classroom, Murphy initiated a challenge last year for all students K through 12, 90 Days to Earth Day. This year, his efforts have more than doubled, spreading the word through flyers in local businesses, WBLiveSurf.com and Local Sessions surf magazine. His project was also recognized by Discovery Channel’s Sea Shepherd of "Whale Wars."

The challenge is easy. Pick-up as much trash as you can everyday. Document what you’ve picked up using a series of daily photos or videos with a brief description of debris, where it was found and how it was disposed. Make sure all recyclables are recycled and trash thrown away. Participants need not register. At the end of the 90 days, on April 20, bring your photo or video essay to one of the four participating locations (Sweetwater Surf Shop, Mellow Mushroom, Surf House Café in Carolina Beach or directly to Murphy). The owners/managers will also be essay judges.

On Earth Day (April 22) winners will be announced. Prizes will include a hand-crafted Dale Carter surfboard, one week of Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School, a Sea Shepherd apparel pack and many more.

Murphy explained, "I’m not just sitting around asking them to do all this work. I will also be out there everyday for the 90 days, picking up trash and disposing of it properly. I too will be keeping a photo essay of what I collect. I have the schedule they do, with papers to grade each night. So if I can fit it in my schedule, I’m sure they can as students."

Will plastic beaches be the wave of our future?

Not if Murphy, the New York native who grew up playing in the water, has anything to do with it.

"I just wanted to make a commitment," Murphy explained, "not only to myself but to the local community and to surfing, which has given me so much, to try and do something about it. We always say, we’re using the ocean. It’s a free thing—using the ocean’s waves; we have to keep it clean or else we’re not going to be able to. I want it to be here for hundreds of years, just as it was before and will be."

To donate prizes for participants or to find out more, call Murphy at (919) 247-1630 or e-mail him at kmurphsbu@hotmail.com.