If beach cleanups on April 9 were any indication, there was a lot of trash littering the Rio Grande Valley’s local beaches.
However, the Valley also posted the second-most volunteers in Texas.
That clearly was a factor as, per mile, the average bulk weight of trash removed on local beaches ranked second highest in a comparison Texas counties, based on data provided by the Texas General Land Office. However, the region also had some of the most support from volunteers, the data shows.
The information comes through reports from beach-cleaning volunteers, who removed and bagged more than 51,000 pounds of trash along the Texas coast this past weekend.
More than 4,000 volunteers worked at 23 cleanup sites during the 2022 Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup held Saturday, April 9 across nine Texas counties.
In Cameron County, 14 miles of beaches were covered in the cleanup by 1,021 volunteers.
Approximately 6,000 pounds of trash were removed from county beaches on South Padre Island, and another 600 pounds were cleared from city beaches. On Boca Chica, 3,260 pounds of trash was collected.
Cameron County’s trash totalled 9,860 pounds in the cleanup. That equates to 704 pounds of trash per mile—second only to Matagorda County, where trash collection averaged 1,110 pounds of trash per mile of beaches.
Matagorda County, with only 10.5 miles of beaches, had nearly as much trash in bulk (11,657 pounds) as Galveston County’s 32 miles of beaches (13,341).
Although Galveston County collected the most overall trash, the region also covered the more beach miles than any other region in the state.
Galveston County posted 1,178 volunteers who collected 417 pounds of trash per mile of beaches.
The General Land Office relies on volunteers to conduct the semi-annual cleanups.
“Texans from every corner of the Lone Star State showed up in droves to help maintain the natural beauty of our cherished beaches,” Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said. “The overwhelming public support of our Adopt-A-Beach cleanups is essential to the success of this program. On behalf of the General Land Office and our partners, I thank the thousands of volunteers who showed up to help keep our beaches safe and clean.”
The Adopt-A-Beach program began in the fall of 1986, when 2,800 volunteers picked up 124 tons of trash.
Since then, 557,129 volunteers have helped remove over 9,700 tons of trash from Texas beaches during Adopt-A-Beach events.
The next coastwide cleanup is scheduled for Sept.17.
Those interested in volunteering can find more information at texasadoptabeach.org.
Texans are encouraged to partake in a fun-filled day of giving back to our coastal communities and protecting Texas beaches.
This year’s state sponsors included the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Valero, the Texas Coastal Management Program, ExxonMobil, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, Flint Hills, Gulf Copper, Altos Plantos Mijenta Tequila, Ocean Conservancy and iwi Life.
