Kids from local high schools volunteered for the Adopt a Beach beach cleanup at Isla Blanca Park. (Photo by Lauren Laughlin)
By LAUREN LAUGHLIN
Special to the PRESS
On Saturday, Sept. 24 more than 1,000 people gathered along South Padre Island beaches for the 25th annual Adopt-A-Beach Fall Cleanup. Volunteers throughout the state of Texas picked up an estimated 20 tons of trash and debris, including plastic bottles and bags which are harmful to sea life.
The motto of the morning was “Don’t trash Texas beaches.” A message The Texas General Land Office has been sending across the state for 25 years. Since the first cleanup in 1986, more than 422,000 Texas Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up more than 8,100 tons of trash from Texas beaches, some of it originating from as far away as South America.
Due to tide patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, trash dumped anywhere in the gulf is likely to end up on a Texas beach. Volunteers’ record information such as the source and type of debris collected on data cards provided by Ocean Conservancy. This data has been instrumental in the passage of international treaties and laws aimed at reducing the amount of offshore dumping.
To see this story in print, pick up a copy of the Sept. 29 edition of the Port Isabel South Padre Press or check out our E-edition by clicking here.
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