Would you like ketchup with that? How about batteries?

Monday, July 27th

I just have to start with explaining the title of this blog entry.  We found, not one, but TWO empty bottles of ketchup on the beach today!  Seriously, I can't make this stuff up!  I don't know what else to say about that.  :-)

Ketchup bottle #1

Several yards down the beach, ketchup bottle #2

It was a weird morning on the beach.  We also found 4 size D batteries.

Here is a list of all the items we found during our morning patrol and litter clean up:

11 cigarette butts
51 food wrappers or pieces of wrappers
20 plastic bottle caps
1 metal bottle cap
4 plastic lids
16 straws/stirrers
2 plastic pieces of cutlery
1 wooden fork???

10 plastic beverage bottles
2 plastic grocery bags
2 other plastic bags
1 paper cup
3 plastic cups
5 foam cups
16 pieces of plastic or foam packaging
2 ketchup bottles
2 tobacco packaging
1 balloon
2 cigar tips
1 piece of blue painters tape
1 piece of silver duck tape
6 pieces of fireworks debris
1 condom partially buried in the sand
1 plastic glove partially buried in the sand
6 foam pieces
11 plastic pieces
20 paper pieces
1 hat
1 bikini cup insert
1 shorts

12 toys
2 cans of vienna sausage
1 hair tie
9 pieces of rope and string
4 wet ones
6 plastic zipties
4 size D batteries
2 pieces of surf wax
1 plastic dental flosser
3 bandaids
1 bread twist tie
1 hair comb-the kind lots of girls used in the 70's to pull their hair back
1 q-tip

We also saw these umbrellas that had been left up overnight, but no tags on them even though there were plenty of tire tracks on the beach indicating that the park ranger or some other vehicle had driven by several times.  It is against ordinance to leave items like this on the beach overnight.  The risks are they can get blown over and then become marine debris or a nesting sea turtle may encounter them causing her to have a "false crawl".

John moved 1 chair away from the tide line.

We discovered this tent, stakes, and tent packaging left on the beach.  We left it there hoping the owners would return or the trash truck would collect it.  It was far away from the tide line and we had no way to carry it the rest of the way off the beach.  It was near a trash can already.

But, not all is trashy on Wrightsville Beach.

Every Monday we see our friend, Holly K. running with a group of women.  This morning we caught up to her, her daughter and another friend.  Holly had helped with a cleanup on Saturday of one of the spoil islands.  Thank you Holly!

Of course, we always get to see the Sun rise, birds foraging, and the beauty that Mother Nature has to offer.

 Peace and Clean Oceans,
Ginger