HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – A woman on the Virginia Peninsula believes Buckroe Beach is in serious danger of pollution.
While taking a walk this weekend, Gina Street says she came across something she did not like.
Street was there as the City of Hampton began their sand replenishing project. While they’re not done, she said she’s concerned about all the trash accumulated on the beach.
“We came out Saturday morning and we came out to all of this — what looks like sludge,” Street said.
It’s not the prettiest to look at right now, but the City of Hampton is replenishing the sand on Buckroe Beach with sand dredged from the Indian River Creek dredging project.
It’s a good deal for taxpayers because it’s free, the city said. City officials say the reuse of the sand saves taxpayers more than $100,000.
“I understand that, you know, they do have to replenish the beaches and they do need to bring sand in, but this isn’t sand,” Street said.
Street said there was more than sand found on the beach.
“Within all of that, there is broken shards of glass, like sharp glass, we found broken light bulbs. We found a street sign, a complete street sign that said you know towing zone, plastic piping, you know, just trash,” she said.
WAVY News’s Tamara Scott went back out with her Monday and found the sign, among other things.
“Our concern is what’s going into the waters. There is a lot of wildlife here and they depend on us to keep the beaches clean. So really my hope is that we can get this removed before it’s too late,” Street said.
City of Hampton officials say the sand is clean, but there will be an occasional piece of trash in it because people throw bottles and other trash into local waterways and streets.
The public works department will come along with a sifting machine before they spread the sand on the beach.
Even when everything is leveled out, Street still sees a threat.
“Children play out here and they build sandcastles and if that child is digging in the sand and they get that piece of glass through their hand, that’s not good,” she said.
But in the meantime, she is looking for someone to help clean up.
“We do come out here frequently and we always always bring our trash home with us, so yeah, anybody that wants to come out and help us we are out here all the time.”
If you’d like to help her you can contact her here on Facebook.