SEPTEMBER 29, 2016
THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Neither storms or red tide could stop them this past weekend. More than 9,000 volunteers showed up to 30 different locations Saturday to remove 172,000 pounds of trash from 169 miles of Texas coastline.
The effort was part of the 30 th annual coast-wide Fall Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup by the Texas General Land office. Just days after, the numbers are in and they were good. “For the 2016 Fall Cleanup, volunteers braved rain and red tide in some areas in order to show their dedication to one of our state’s most treasured features – our beloved beaches,” Texas land commissioner George P. Bush said. “Thank you Adopt-A-Beach volunteers for 30 years of keeping Texas’ coastline clean.”
Since 1985, more than 504,000 volunteers have removed 9,300 tons, or more than 18.76 million pounds of trash from the beaches. Cigarette butts beer cans and plastic bags are some of the most common items found, but there certainly always are some weird items.
The cleanups are held three times a year and its success is due mostly to the work of volunteers. The next cleanup is the South Padre Winter Texan event is set for Feb. 10.
Can you believe what they found?
Here are some of the strange items found on Texas beaches Saturday.
• Air mattresses
• Dog bed
• Pacifier
• Bowling ball
• Drive shaft
• Plastic vampire teeth
• Brick
• Drug paraphernalia
• Shoes
• Broken TV
• Electrocardiogram (EKG) pads
• Shotgun shells
• Bundle of wire
• Fireworks
• Small bag of Xanax pills
• Car battery
• Folding chairs
• Tire with rim
• Car seat
• Four 55 gallon drums
• Toilet
• Car tire
• Glass vial with cattle antibiotic still inside
• Toothbrush
• Carpet
• Large refrigerator
• Two baby strollers
• Child’s car seat
• Large rope
• Water heater
• Coconut
• Money
• Windshield wiper blades
• Cuban cigar
• Old PC monitor
Who showed up Saturday?
SouthPadre IslandCameronCounty – 1,178 volunteers collected 4.78 tons of garbage
South Padre Island city beaches – 540 volunteers collected 1,183 pounds of garbage.
Boca Chica beach – 430 volunteers collected 2.76 tons of garbage.
