A large amount of plastic and trash pollutes our beaches everyday. Now, a local environmental group wants the community to help clean up in an easy-to-do and inexpensive way.
There’s no question about it. Some beach trash is easier to spot than other trash, but the smaller stuff like plastic pellets or nurdles, are easy to miss.
“There’s just a lot of small debris that’s not being cleaned up on the beach,” said Sam Sugarek, with the Nueces River Authority – Clean Rivers Program.
As the project manager for the program, Sugarek says they’re aiming small by introducing an initiative called sand sifting.
It’s pretty simple to do. All you need is to bring a kitchen colander and a bucket to the beach with you.
This is a short video demonstrating "sand sieving" on Padre Island to remove plastic bits and nurdles from the beach.
Posted by Nueces River Authority – Clean Rivers Program on Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Sugarek says one area known for trash is the “bowl.” That’s about five miles south of Bob Hall Pier.
“In about two hours, I almost filled a five-gallon bucket,” said Sugarek.
Now he hopes the community will do its part to keep beaches clean.
“I think it’s very important,” said Jim Fields, a beach visitor. “We need to keep all of our waterways clean.”
Sand sifting is one of the initiatives part of the Nueces River Authority’s education and outreach program. Their goal is to inform the community on how they can help keep our waters clean. Another effort they’re taking on is the “trash challenge.” For more information on that, visit their social media page.
