SANDY HOOK, N.J. – Among the seashells, sandcastles and ocean waves at the Jersey shore last year, you may also have seen these: a whoopee cushion, a parking meter, a stun gun, a clay sculpture of baby Jesus and some bra padding.
They were among the more than 315,000 items of trash picked up from New Jersey’s 127-mile coastline in 2014 by volunteers as part of spring and fall beach sweeps carried out by the Clean Ocean Action environmental group.
Plastic pieces were the most common trash, comprising 13 percent of the total.
The trash was either left behind by beachgoers or washed ashore by the tides from careless boaters, faraway trash dumps, or sewer systems that overflowed during storms.
Here’s a look at some of the more unusual items that were picked up:
Jersey shore
Volunteers picked up enough material to start a beauty salon, including bobby pins, hair ties, a hair brush, a hair weave and a wig.
Guns, God and groceries
Someone found a stun gun. Also picked up were a clay statue of baby Jesus, a customer rewards card from the Wegmans supermarket chain, a trash bag full of arcade tickets, a bowling ball and what the organizers assert was “human poop” without delving into details of how that was confirmed.
Happy holidays!
Christmas lights were found, as were Christmas bells, firecrackers, larger fireworks, a light-up snowman, and, for that Halloween touch, a set of Dracula teeth.
Toys, toys, toys
An alligator was found on the shore (a rubber one, that is), along with plastic Army soldiers, a plastic lobster, a swing set and a Badminton racket.
Clean that up, stat!
Medical waste continued to surface, including 197 syringes, most of which presumable were flushed down toilets and emerged during storm overflows. Nearly 3,200 tampon applicators, also were tallied.
Electronic trash
Half a cellphone was discovered, along with a hearing aid; a set of headphones; a telephone cord (remember those?) and a TV remote. (Yes, THAT’s where you left it.)
