10 Million Pounds of Trash

This is one of those stories that leaves us asking, "What are people thinking?!"

The Ocean Conservancy has released photos from its most recent International Coastal Cleanup. More than 500,000 volunteers combed beaches worldwide to clear away 10 million pounds of trash. They hauled away old electronics, pounds and pounds of plastic, and mattresses.

The photos are sickening. Click ahead to see the weird, gross things that are trashing our world's beaches.

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2,117,931 Cigarettes & Filters

More than 2 million cigarettes and filters were picked up from our beaches, waiting for you to step on them. 

If that stat doesn't gross you out enough, consider this: Volunteers have collected more than 57 million during the 27 years of the annual clean up. If you stack them all, you'd end up with a structure as tall as 3,867 Empire State Buildings.

1,586,901 Bottles (Plastic & Glass combined)

Let's put 1.5 million bottles into perspective. The Ocean Conservancy says if you laid all the bottles end-to-end, they'd be as tall as 1368 Eiffel Towers.

1,019,902 Plastic Bags

The recent clean up produced more than one million plastic bags. The Ocean Conservancy says volunteers have collected nearly 10 million plastic bags in the 27 year history of the clean up.

Why Would Anyone Put This on a Beach? 

• 117 Mattresses
• 4159 Candles
• 2492 Sports Balls

Want to see more? The slideshow above reveals more gross finds, from Spain to Puerto Rico to Hawaii.