NORFOLK — A rusted out car, a mannequin head, and 40 cucumbers were just a few of the strange items that volunteers discovered during the 29th Clean the Bay Day.
Around 6,000 volunteers helped pick up litter from 250 different sites throughout Virginia during the annual clean-up initiative run by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Participants included elected and local officials and representatives from several businesses across the Commonwealth.
“It is wonderful to see so many thousands of people from across Virginia come together to do their part for our waterways,” said coordinator Tanner Council in a press release. “With everyone working together, in just a few hours we’ve put a massive dent in Virginia’s litter problem.”
Around 100,000 pounds of garbage and debris were removed from shorelines across the state.
For three hours, volunteers worked in 17 cities and counties and 22 state parks, removing common litter items like aluminum cans, plastic bags, and cigarette butts.
Since its start nearly three decades ago, Clean the Bay Day has enlisted the help of over 150,000 people and has successfully removed over 6.4 million pounds of debris and trash from Virginia shorelines and state parks.
It’s common for participants to find unique items at clean-up sites. This year’s list of unusual debris included a dishwasher and stove, a complete bed frame, several shopping carts, a whole coconut, a headless Barbie doll, an old cash register, a computer, a full gas can, multiple car batteries, a weed-eater, contact lenses in a case, a vintage pepper shaker, and a full bushel of dead crabs.
“Litter is one obvious threat to Virginia’s waters, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to clean up less noticeable sources of pollution,” Council said. “Clean the Bay Day not only raises awareness, it also fosters a culture of taking care of our shared waterways.”
