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Island residents have had enough of visitors trashing their beaches

Posted at 6:05 PM, Jul 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-19 19:20:04-04

Over at Bob Hall Pier, there are concerns over what some are saying is a growing trash problem.

With litter all over the beach and trash cans overflowing, island residents and beach visitors say, they've had enough.

But what's being done to address it, to keep the beach from becoming an eyesore?

“I was trying to pick up the trash so our turtles, and our birds and our fish don't eat that,” Island resident Brandey Berris said.

It’s a growing concern among Island residents during the summer months.

"It's a combination of sadness and anger that people would leave so much trash here,” Island resident Susan Trujillo said.

They’re complaining about trash being scattered everywhere, especially after a busy weekend.

"You'll see a lot of debris,” Trujillo said. “The trash cans are overloaded. There's litter all over the beach."

And these beach visitors want something done about it ASAP.

However, the director of Coastal Parks for Nueces County Scott Cross says for a well-visited area staff do their best in keeping our local beaches clean.

"When they come out especially on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend, you may find pockets of areas of that have trash left behind by visitors," Cross said.

But it will get addressed first thing on Monday morning.

Cross also mentioned trash is picked up twice a day, four times a week instead of seven because of cost restrictions.

Sometimes, county staff even walk the beach and hand out trash bags to visitors.

And they add extra personnel on a busy holiday weekend.

Not to mention, the county spends more than $180,000 per year to manage trash.

But everyone just wants to share the message that it's important to be better stewards of the environment.

"We want to promote keeping the beach clean like it's everybody's responsibility,” Cross said. “It doesn't matter if you left it or didn't leave it."

The director of Coastal Parks Nueces County says they want to launch a Coastal Bend trash campaign, with the saying "why pass it up, please pick it up."

They also have five full-time positions available to help maintain county beaches and parks.

For more information, check out their website. https://www.nuecesbeachparks.com/