CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Dirty Dozen Beach Pollutants Listed

An environmental group said cigarette butts rank No. 1 among the Dirty Dozen contaminants fouling California’s beaches. The list--California’s Dirty Dozen--was drawn up after tons of trash and debris was removed from the state’s beaches during a three-hour international cleanup last year. Beaches in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico and Guatemala last fall yielded trash that was 64% plastic, the Center for Marine Conservation said. In descending order, the other contaminants were: foam plastic pieces, paper pieces, glass, plastic, food bags/wrappers, straws, metal bottle caps, plastic caps/lids, bottles, foam packaging material and miscellaneous paper.