Just in time for the 4th of July weekend; news that medical waste has been washing up at area beaches. Syringes, condoms, cell phone cases and more have been spotted by beach goers. From the Star Ledger...
The debris was found from Barnegat Light to Surf City on Sunday. However, the Long Beach Island Health Department did not release information about the incident until Wednesday because director Tim Hilferty said it was cleaned up by Monday morning.
Which NJ beaches have you found to be cleaner than others?
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Comments (30)
I know this is a perennial problem and that we're probably inured to it by now, but really...
The debris was found... on Sunday. However, the Long Beach Island Health Department did not release information about the incident until Wednesday because... it was cleaned up by Monday morning.
How about releasing the information on Sunday?
Which NJ beaches have you found to be cleaner than others?
OMG, Liz, is the bar really that low?
Back in the day i worked on the beach and we used to find all sorts of stuff and report it to the proper authorities. Nobody ever came down to confirm it, they just turn a blind eye to it. People used to ask if it was ok to swim in the water and we'd ask them 'if you put it in your bath tub would you go in?" No doubt there will be plenty of unsuspecting bathers with ear aches and soar throats over the next few days till it washes back out. The beaches have been better but more could be done.
I loves me some Sandy Hook. I used to think it was dirty when I was a kid but now I find it to be the most enjoyable beach in New Jersey. Well, except for that traffic you can get stuck in if you're leaving at the same time as everyone else.
Back in the 60's there were lots of horseshoe crabs
down the shore. All gone.
I prefer the sand below
Manasquan Inlet Dive
"Back in the 60's there were lots of horseshoe crabs
down the shore. All gone."
Spiro, the horseshoe crabs are actually around in good numbers. I have seen numerous mating pairs at the inlets and around Sandy Hook.
Shore schmore. Given the weather, I'm more worried about medical waste washing up in my basement.
Going to Maine for the holiday weekend. The only debris I hope to see are lobsters.
I went to Sandy Hook last week on a beautiful, sunny day. To my surprise the beach was immaculate, and parts were roped off to protect nesting terrapins. The other two times I've been there, the beach was full of washed up junk. Kudos to the park service! Another big surprise was taking a drive through Highlands and finding a wonderful waterfront restaurant, The Inlet.
Ban trash dumping off the jersey shore. Problem solved.
Dump the trash instead in laser's backyard.
I love being at the shore, but I spend more time at the pool when I'm there. Can't compete with chlorine for cleanliness.
This is so sad!
Just when I was to brag about our "150 miles of pristine beaches..." Something like this comes up.
Can't defend it.
And really, two minutes before this waste washed up, the beach was clean!
So you never know.
We love Bradley Beach. (Not too fond of driving more than an hour.)
But the Town pools or a local Beach Club or Lake are looking better and better....
Better yet, dump the trash at a hospital, pharma, or garbage execs home so their family too can experience the joy of hepatitis.
Scuba, that's great to know. We've been going to Bradley, Avon and Pt. Pleasant for over 12 years now and haven't seen a single horseshoe crab in the entire time. They used to be all over the beach at Asbury Park when I was a kid.
Better yet, just shoot all the executives and the trash will stop.
Jail will suffice.
To me it seems that the ocean has gotten much cleaner since I was a child. There was a huge oil tanker that broke in half during a storm and logged itself a few hundred feet away from the beach in Spring Lake. It was there for a couple of years and we swam ANYWAY! Then in those years there were even the horror story like accounts of hospital waste....even fingers found on the beach...amidst the horseshoe crab carcasses.
I'll pass on your childhood dystopia. Toxic and infectious garbage is bad.
Would you like some medical waste on church street?
It is good to see, since your appearances have been infrequent (albeit still full of nonsense) of late, laserlumpenprole, that you are still as publicly devoted to the quashing of everyone else's happiness as ever.
Shall I see you waving to all and sundry in the BlueWaveNJ contingent at the big parade, mikey? Or will you instead by spending the day quietly, perhaps by attaching lit sparklers to the wings of live butterflies?
Better yet, dump the trash at a hospital, pharma, or garbage execs home so their family too can experience the joy of hepatitis.
Huh? The last time we had this happened, it was traced to NYC's Fresh Kills Landfill. Blaming the spill on these "execs" makes no more sense than blaming it on the doctors, nurses or sick people!
BTW, I'm sure that you will find more "hospital, pharma and garbage execs" swimming at LBI than you will NYC politicians.
I'll be down in AC this weekend.
Maybe I'll look at the water while I'm sipping on my drink from Bikini Bar, but seriously doubt I'll be sticking my toes in it.
Although, I have never remotely ever envisioned Spring Lake as dystopian (maybe until now with the “bash and build”), I do remember how remarkably polluted things were while growing up in NJ. How did we survive? There is probably a higher rate of certain illnesses in NJ due to the amount of pollution that was present. Just considering that the stretch from Paterson down to Newark along the Passaic River was an earthly paradise, full of estates, farms and hotels until about 150 years ago. They shut all of that down because of illnesses. The first real estate developer in Baristaville, Llewellyn Haskel, came here to develop after having lost his wife and several children to illness while they were living on their estate in North Arlington.
Condoms? In NJ, we call them Seaside White Fish, they are all over the beach! Usually left there from someone driving a Freehold Ferrari (red Camaro)
Frank, there is no reason to tolerate or accept toxic and infectious garbage. Better? Maybe. Good enough? Not even close.
Cathilter, I hope you're marching. I would like to see that.
Mike, I absolutely agree, but my point is that back in the 1960s, we were all so UNAWARE. Children had to go out and play all day (even if they were playing with radio active materal) just as long as we came home in time to change for dinner, it was all OK. The adults smoked and drank heavily (sort of like in the Valley of the Dolls) and fitness did'nt mean good health, it just meant how good you looked.
jersey smersey nasty nasty icky icky - wouldn't stick a foot in if you paid off my mortgage - god bless nantucket.
The big irony is that if you travel around the country and visit states that don't charge you to use their beaches, they are usually cleaner. Here, they charge you up the wazoo and the beaches are frequently filthy.
And what is up with hospitals dumping their waste in the ocean? Haven't they learned anything from the late 70s-early 80s, when this was first brought to our attention? The hospitals in question should be tried and fined, big time. This is inexcusable! Why do the citizens of NY and NJ put up with this crap, literally?
Just returned home from Seaside Park, the beach was surprisingly clean where we were. However, a bit farther down the shoreline towards Ortley Beach and Mantoloking, I heard it was pretty dirty.
Where did the medical waste come from, who put it there, and who is responsible? These are the only questions that matter and they provide targets for redress.
Agreed. I know many hospitals hire outside firms to dispose of the med waste but even so, if these companies are negligent, then the hospitals should shoulder at least some of the responsibility.