AUSTIN — The results for Saturday’s 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. On Saturday, the list of weird stuff found on Texas beaches included:
| · 10 pound iron bar | · Hand cuffs | · Scuba diver flipper |
| · 2 – 20’ PVC pipes | · Ice chest | · Set of old keys |
| · 2 washing machines | · Japanese cigarettes in a can | · Shotgun shells |
| · 5-gallon cans | · Jock strap and cup | · Sleeper couch |
| · A dead rattlesnake inside an old tire | · Jumper cables | · Stuffed animal |
| · Banana magnet | · Laundry basket | · Tackle box |
| · Car bumper | · Outdoor panel of car door | · Tent |
| · Carpet | · Part of a car bumper | · Tires |
| · Coconuts | · Pet bed | · Toilet seat |
| · Dog house | · Plastic bottle of vanilla extract | · Toothbrush |
| · Doll parts | · Printer cartridge | · Toothpaste |
| · Door | · Propane bottles | · Water pipe (bong) |
| · Fake mustache | · Propane burner | · Wetsuit |
| · Full packets of condiments | · Recliner | · Women’s high heeled shoe |
| · Hair roller | · Refrigerator |
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.
| County | Cleanup Site | Miles Cleaned | Volunteers | Tons Collected (lbs) |
| Aransas | Rockport Beach (Bay) | 2 | 53 | 0.225 | 450 | |
| County Total | 2 | 53 | 0.225 | 450 | ||
| Brazoria | Surfside | 14 | 957 | 9.2 | (18,384) | |
| Quintana, Bryan Beach | 2.5 | 80 | 1.24 | (2,475) | ||
| County Total | 16.5 | 1,037 | 10.44 | (20,859) | ||
| Calhoun | Port Lavaca, Magnolia Beach (Bay) | 6 | 142 | 1.89 | (3,780) | |
| Boggy Nature Park (Bay) | 1 | 45 | 0.23 | 468 | ||
| Port O’ Connor, King Fisher Beach (Bay) | 1 | 46 | 0.28 | (555) | ||
| County Total | 8 | 233 | 2.4 | (3,867) | ||
| Cameron | South Padre Island Cameron County Parks | 5 | 1,346 | 5.61 | (11,225) | |
| South Padre Island City Beaches | 4 | 446 | 1.75 | (3,300) | ||
| Boca Chica | 6.5 | 209 | 1.83 | (3,660) | ||
| County Total | 15.5 | 2,001 | 9.19 | (18,185) | ||
| Chambers | Chambers County – canceled | |||||
| County Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Galveston | Bolivar Peninsula | 27 | 325 | 3.52 | (7,034) | |
| Galveston Island | 20.1 | 1,130 | 7.2 | (14,400) | ||
| John M. O’ Quinn 1-45 Estuarial Corridor (Bay) – canceled | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| County Total | 47.1 | 1,455 | 10.72 | (21,434) | ||
| Jefferson | McFaddin Beach | 2.5 | 192 | 1.46 | (2,916) | |
| Sea Rim State Park | 3 | 124 | 1.75 | (3,500) | ||
| County Total | 5.5 | 316 | 3.21 | (6,416) | ||
| Kleberg and Nueces | Baffin Bay (Bay) – canceled | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Padre Island National Seashore | 6 | 109 | 3.47 | (6,950) | ||
| Port Aransas | 6.7 | 245 | 1.4 | (2,800) | ||
| St. Jo Island | 2 | 121 | 2.02 | (4,050) | ||
| Mustang Island State Park | 2 | 45 | 0.46 | (930) | ||
| North Corpus Christi Beach (Bay) | 9 | 353 | 2.2 | (4,410) | ||
| Cole Park (Bay) | 3 | 82 | 0.79 | (1,575) | ||
| Oso Bay Wetlands Preserve (Bay) | 1 | 35 | 0.34 | (689) | ||
| Packery Flats (Bay) | 2 | 12 | 0.15 | (1,000) | ||
| North Padre Island | 9 | 144 | 1.07 | (2,145) | ||
| Aransas Pass (Bay) – canceled | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| County Total | 40.7 | 1,146 | 11.9 | (24,549) | ||
| Matagorda | Sargent Beach | 5 | 196 | 1.6 | (3,200) | |
| Matagorda Beach | 6 | 251 | 5.5 | (10,944) | ||
| Palacios (Bay) | 1 | 18 | 0.22 | (438) | ||
| County Total | 12 | 465 | 7.32 | (14,582) | ||
| Refugio | Austwell Pier (Bay) | 1 | 24 | 0.11 | (216) | |
| County Total | 1 | 24 | 0.11 | (216) | ||
| San Patricio | Portland, Sunset Lake Park (Bay) | 3 | 27 | 0.49 | (975) | |
| County Total | 3 | 27 | 0.49 | (975) | ||
| Total | Spring 2016 | 151.3 | 6,757 | 56.01 | (110,633) | |
| Total Bay Miles | 30 | |||||
| Total Beach Miles | 121.3 | |||||
To learn more about the Adopt-A-Beach program, visit www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/texasadoptabeach or follow us on Twitter @TXAdoptABeach.