From drywall to metal: Study finds gulls tough enough for landfill diet

Sea gulls fly at the beach of the Baltic Sea in Timmendorfer Strand, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2016. (Michael Probst/AP Photo)

OTTAWA -- Gulls at landfills are so common that their stomach contents are sometimes use to monitor plastic in the environment.

But research out of Carleton University in Ottawa has found that plastic is just the start.

In a newly published paper, researcher Sahar Seif found gulls were gulping down everything from drywall to pointy bits of metal.

Seif says she was able to read labels on sharp pieces of glass found down in gull gullets.

She says the birds didn't seen to have been harmed by their indiscriminate diet -- perhaps because they can regurgitate anything that's truly harmful.

Seif notes that other seabirds at landfills aren't so tough and her study shows the need for reducing the amount of waste that can get into the environment.