Beach Sweep / River Sweep 2013

 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Beach Sweep / River Sweep!

 

Beach Sweep/River Sweep is South Carolina's largest one-day volunteer cleanup event of its kind. Every 3rd Saturday in September, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., thousands of South Carolinians clear beaches, rivers, lakes, marshes, and swamps of aquatic debris. The cleanup, organized by the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and S.C. Department of Natural Resources, has taken place annually since 1988 - when Sea Grant first started it. The Sweep takes place in conjunction with the International Coastal Cleanup, coordinated by the Ocean Conservancy. Once the Sweep is over, the Ocean Conservancy tallies all of the debris data. This data helps us learn the sources of litter so we can stop pollution before it starts.  (taken from BSRS main page)

New kiosk





We have participated in the annual Beach Sweep / River sweep six of the last nine years.   It was a last minute decision to participate this year,  because our schedule is so full for the next two months.  Normally we sponsor a group event either with our geocaching club, or the local High School "Green Teens" organization.  This year, it was just Lisa and I, and the area picked up was a much smaller scale.  Normally, the location is Lake Cherokee, however, this year we cleaned Lake Thicketty's main boat landing, because it is much closer to home, and time mattered this go around. Later when time allows, we are going to make a more concentrated effort at the old ramp.
  We kayak here, and so do some friends, and each time there, everyone makes a point out of picking up some of the litter.   That said, it still gets to me how nasty people are, and how most are oblivious to a impact they have on the things around them.   I cannot tell you how much fishing line we cleared out of the water, grass, and low shrubs.  Birds, waterfowl, fish, and get tangled in this stuff so often, and it is so sad.

One of MANY fishing line piles removed

 

But I think the worst part, is the fact that parents who litter, have children who litter.   We can do better folks!

Candy jar found by the water beside three plastic juice containers.









Litter pick up ahead...

We picked up litter today for Adopt-A-Highway. We adopted this road about 5 years ago, and try to pick up litter at least four times a year. Sadly, there is always an abundance of trash. I almost always find something odd, today it was part of a tie-down strap beside the business end of a tape measure.

We seem to find fewer and fewer aluminum cans, I guess its the economy, folks are picking them up and selling them @ scrap yards. I wish a return deposit was still being offered on bottles, because we still find them everywhere, along with lottery scratch off cards.

Litter is ugly.

How could someone?

Monday night was the last day of my 5 day break, so after dinner, we decided to get out of the house and go for a drive. We headed up to lake Thickety just a couple of miles above the house, and since we were in the jeep, decided to take a back road to the lake. It was a nice little drive, as the sun was setting. We made our way down the road with the top of the jeep brushing a few low hanging branches.

The noise of the branches rubbing the top of the jeep was scaring Lilly Belle'. This is a dirt road and is pretty much washed out and it is cut through a small forrest. The reason I go into such detail about this road, is what we saw when we made it to the end of it. There on the banks of this beautiful lake, sat a couch, the remains of another couch that had been burned, and also the remains of a chest of drawers. My point: My drive was not easy in a JEEP!, much less a truck carrying this load of waste! Why would someone GO TO THIS MUCH TROUBLE to illegally dump @ such a beautiful area, when the county landfill is open six days a week?

I will never understand this type of stupidity!

On our way out, we decided to take the long way home, up frontage road and around by the orchards. We'll, low and behold, right there on the frontage road, beside I-85, some other idiot, had decided to dump a boat & a dishwasher, I guess they figured it was as good of a place as any!

People amaze me!