Nearly 5,000 volunteers pick up nearly 80,000 lbs of trash from Texas beaches during Spring Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup

Contact: Brittany Eck
(512) 463-5708
brittany.eck@glo.texas.gov
PDF Version
PRESS RELEASE — Apr 26, 2018

AUSTIN — The results for Saturday's 32nd annual Spring Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup by the Texas General Land Office are in. It was a little chillier with scattered showers and high tides in a few spots, but 4,905 volunteers showed up at 25 locations to remove 79,355 pounds of trash from the Texas coastline!

"For 32 years Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have come together to pick up trash and keep Texas clean and beautiful," said Land Commissioner George P. Bush. "This spring, volunteers were not only showing their dedication to keeping our Texas beaches clean, but also helping coastal communities recover and prepare for summer tourism season. Thank you, Adopt-A-Beach volunteers, for helping keep Texas' coastline clean!"

Since 1986, more than 523,000 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have cleaned more than 9,590 tons of trash from Texas beaches. Cigarette butts, beer cans and plastic bags are among the most common items found. But with each cleanup, plenty of odd and unusual items inevitably are reported. On Saturday, the list of weird stuff found on Texas beaches included:

55-gallon drum

Easter eggs

Nails

Baby bottle

Evidence of illegal dumping - tires, furniture, appliances

Pallets

Bag of clothes

Fire extinguisher

Refrigerator

Barbecue pit filled with fishing line and shoes

Front door to a house

Salt shaker

BBQ Grill

Gas mask

Sharpie permanent marker

Birth control pills

Golf bag

Shotgun Shells

Bleach bottles

Golf balls

Stroller

Blue PVC pipe

Halogen light bulb

Surfboard

Car bumper

Hard hat

Tires

Car mirror

Hypodermic needles

Toilet lid

Car seat

Insulation

Toothbrushes

Car stereo with tape deck

Kids toys

Trolling boat motor

Cascarones

Lawn chairs

Windshield wipers

Chairs

License plates

Clock

Make-up

Construction materials

Mattress

Crab traps

Message in a bottle from Florida fisherman

The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach program is an all-volunteer effort to remove trash from Texas' shores. Coastal cleanups are held three times each year and the program's success is due to the hard work of volunteers, including local coordinators who work many unpaid hours publicizing the cleanups in coastal communities. The next cleanup will be the Coastwide Fall Adopt-A-Beach effort scheduled for Saturday, September 15, 2018. Adopt-A-Beach volunteers record data on the trash they find to learn more about the causes of marine debris and to help mitigate pollution along Texas' 367 miles of coastline.

Brazoria Surfside Beach 13 399 3,288
Quintana, Bryan Beach 2.5 95 840
County Total 15.5 494 4,128
Calhoun Port Lavaca, Magnolia Beach (Bay) 6 133 2,788
County Total 6 133 2788
Cameron South Padre Island - County Beaches 5 1,189 4,752
South Padre Island - City Beaches 3 270 1,200
Boca Chica 4 98 1,340
County Total 12 1557 7292
Galveston Bolivar Peninsula 26 150 1,300
Galveston Island 15.8 1,071 14,984
County Total 42 1,221 16,284
Jefferson McFaddin Beach 2 150 7,500
Sea Rim State Park 2 129 984
County Total 4 279 8,484
Kleberg and Nueces Baffin Bay (Bay) 1 25 422
Padre Island National Seashore  3 69 5,450
Port Aransas  10 136 2,085
St. Jo Island  1 36 2,425
Mustang Island State Park  3 45 984
North Corpus Christi Beach (Bay) 9 195 4,875
Cole Park (Bay) 3 104 576
Packery Flats (Bay)  1.5 14 500
North Padre Island  9 126 2,325
Aransas Pass (Bay) 1 20 3,500
County Total 41.5 770 23,142
Matagorda Sargent Beach 5 192 6,518
Matagorda Beach 4.5 180 9,000
Palacios (Bay) 1 29 336
County Total 10.5 401 15,854
Refugio Austwell Pier (Bay) 1 21 204
  County Total 1 21 204
San Patricio Sunset Lake Park, Portland (Bay)  2 48 1,275
  County Total 2 48 1,275
TOTAL SPRING 2018 134 4,924 79,451
Total Bay Miles 25.50
Total Beach Miles 108.8
Total Tons of Trash 39.73

To learn more about the Adopt-A-Beach program, visit TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/texasadoptabeach and follow us on Twitter at @TXadoptabeach.

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