Sun, sand, and strange stuff
As trash becomes beach litter, over 315,000 items are found during a cleanup.
SANDY HOOK, N.J. - Among the seashells, sand castles, and ocean waves at the Jersey Shore last year, there were also a whoopee cushion, a parking meter, a stun gun, a clay sculpture of the baby Jesus, and some bra padding.
They were among the more than 315,000 items of trash picked up from New Jersey's 127-mile coastline in 2014 by volunteers as part of spring and fall beach sweeps carried out by the Clean Ocean Action environmental group.
Plastic pieces were the most common trash, 13 percent of the total. Many of them were broken into small pieces, a serious problem with so-called microplastics entering the marine environment and being eaten by fish or marine animals.
The trash was either left behind by beachgoers or washed ashore by the tides from careless boaters, faraway trash dumps, or sewer systems that overflowed during storms.
Volunteers picked up enough material to start a beauty salon, including bobby pins, hair ties, a hair brush, a hair weave, and a wig.
Cigarettes and smoking material accounted for nearly 10 percent of the items collected. More than 30,000 cigarette butts or filters were tallied, along with 6,366 cigar tips and 891 lighters.
Someone found a stun gun. Also picked up were the statue of baby Jesus, a customer rewards card from the Wegmans supermarket chain, a trash bag full of arcade tickets, a bowling ball, and what the organizers asserted was human excrement without delving into details. Plus, a ski pole, a saw blade, a sleeping bag, parts of a wooden chair, a rubber mat, and an engagement announcement.
Christmas lights were found, as were Christmas bells, firecrackers, larger fireworks, a light-up snowman, and, for that Halloween touch, a set of Dracula teeth.
Toys included a rubber alligator, plastic Army soldiers, a plastic lobster, a swing set and a badminton racket.
Medical waste continued to surface, including 197 syringes, most of which presumably were flushed down toilets and emerged during storm overflows. Nearly 3,200 tampon applicators, locally nicknamed "Jersey beach whistles" for the propensity of children to pick them up and use them, were tallied. There also were 563 condoms.
Among electronics recovered were half a cellphone; a hearing aid; a set of headphones; a telephone cord; and a TV remote control.