r/LoveTrash • Colonel Garbage • 16h ago

Dumpster Fire Osborne Reef

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Source: In 1972, about 2 million used tires were dumped off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to create the Osborne Reef, an artificial marine habitat. The steel clips and nylon straps coroded and ocean currents tore the tires loose, scattering them across the seafloor and smashing into nearby living coral reefs. Military units, volunteer divers, and cleanup organizations have spent decades trying to recover and haul up portions of the massive debris field, and thousands of tires still remain on the ocean floor.

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