Special to The News

AUSTIN — Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced Wednesday results of the 2019 Coastal Spring Cleanup.

“The dedication of our community to do more for the environment and the Texas coast is extraordinary,” Bush said in an issued statement. “Despite the threat of storms, 4,371 volunteers joined together and removed 47,009 pounds of trash from 143 miles of beaches and bays.

“Without our volunteers, this effort wouldn’t be what it is today. I am thankful to see so many people of all ages come together for something so important to our great state.”

At Sea Rim State Park in Jefferson County,163 volunteers cleaned six miles of beach, collecting 1,644 pounds of trash.

The largest haul was in Matagorda, where 10,161 pounds of trash was picked up on three beaches: Sargent, Matagorda and Palacios Bay.

Since the cleanups began, more than 533,000 volunteers have removed more than 9,658 tons of trash from Texas beaches. Cigarette butts, beer cans and plastic bags are among the most common items found.

However, with each cleanup, plenty of odd and unusual items are inevitably reported. On Saturday, items found on Texas beaches included a car bumper, tire pieces and sledge hammer on North Beach Corpus Christi, a $5 bill at Bolivar Peninsula, a mattress at Boggy Nature Park in Port O’Conner, a welcome mat from Boca Chica Beach and a plastic children’s sword from Austwell Beach, GLO reported.
GLO offered thanks to 2019 Spring Cleanup sponsors Schlumberger, Texas Coastal Management Program, Apache, ExxonMobil Foundation, Murphy Exploration, Corona Del Mar Beach Properties, Dumpsters.com, Trusted Senior Specialists, and our in-kind sponsor Ocean Conservancy.

“We appreciate our sponsors support,” the state agency said.

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.

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.