Any Fly Fisherman worth his stripes picks up trash when he or she is on the water. Apparently it’s in our nature to try and keep nature pristine, and not just for appearances sake. Trout are indicator species of water quality, and trash is a first sign that things are going downhill in the environment.
Plastic bags, cigarette butts, fast food wrappers — and not to point fingers — styrofoam bait containers and bottles of salmon eggs are pretty common detritus to be found streamside. More and more, however, a single category of refuse seems to be floating to the top of the list: single-use plastic water and drink bottles.
Fly Fisherman Senior Editor Ross Purnell did a little research on the issue last spring, and came up with some staggering numbers. “America produces about 50 billion single-use plastic water bottles each year, and annually recycles only 23 percent. That means 38 billion water bottles go into landfills each year or worse become litter along our rivers, lake shores, and coasts. Globally…
