I did a cleanup at Ocean Beach in SF last year and filled maybe half a bag before my back started hurting, so I sat down on the sand like a toddler having a meltdown. A woman walking her dog asked how many pieces I got and I said "like forty" and she just laughed and said the record that day was 312. That number hit me weird. Forty pieces is nothing but it's also forty things that aren't in the ocean now. I still think cleanups won't fix the whole problem but counting makes it feel less like standing in the rain with a spoon.

Did you check if those belts were sitting in a hot warehouse for years before you got them? A buddy of mine ran into the same thing with a cheap belt pack he bought online, they looked fine in the box but the rubber was already dried out and cracking. First one lasted maybe ten days on a Whirlpool he was fixing for a regular customer, and he had to eat the trip back plus give her a discount to keep her from badmouthing him around town. He switched to buying OEM in small batches instead of bulk and never had that problem again. The few bucks you save up front is nothing compared to losing a customer who tells everyone you cut corners.