Oak Island cleaning nets 100 pounds of litter

This year’s beach spring cleaning, held May 14 and performed in conjunction with the Surfrider Foundation, saw 25 volunteers gather nearly 100 pounds of litter, not counting large items such as tires and lumber debris.

The sweep was easier than usual, but the Oak Island Beach Preservation Society (BPS) remains diligent all year, with members patrolling 65 beach accesses. They regularly collect trash from beach access areas, build and maintain bicycle racks and ensure that pet waste bags dispensers remain stocked. BPS catalogs and weighs the debris in part to assess trends and also to drive future litter-reduction efforts, said Eileen Keates, who helped organize the effort.