Adopt-A-Beach Coordinator Roxanne Ochoa (3rd from left) and volunteers at King Fisher Beach in Port O’Connor.

The results for the April 23rd 30th annual Spring Adopt-A-Beach Cleanup by the Texas General Land Office are in. Unfortunately wet weather conditions resulted in the cancellation of four sites, but 6,757 volunteers showed up at 27 locations to remove 110,663 pounds of trash from 151 miles of Texas coastline. The rain cleared in time giving volunteers a sunny but cool day to enjoy the beautiful Texas coast!

Since 1986, more than 496,000 Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have cleaned more than 9,200 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. A few of the of weird items found on Texas beaches Saturday: a toilet seat, propane bottles, hand cuffs, refrigerator, and Japanese cigarettes in a can.

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 24, 2016. 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.

Clean up in Calhoun County:
Magnolia Beach – 6 miles cleaned – 3,780 lbs. of trash
Boggy Nature Park – 1 mile cleaned – 468 lbs. of trash
King Fisher Beach – 1 mile cleaned – 555 lbs. of trash