ATLANTIC BEACH, NC (WCTI) — Those headed to the beach can help keep the Crystal Coast clean thanks to baskets now available at access points.
Director of Atlantic Beach Parks and Recreation Morgan Gilbert said the blue baskets are available at all 22 beach access points in the town, so beachgoers can grab them to throw trash away and keep from littering along the beach.
Gilbert said each basket includes a QR code to be used as part of an interactive beach cleanup app, NOAA Marine Debris Tracker. Officials also ask that people take photos of the trash they collect and post it to social media with “#TrashFreeAB.”
“A, this is a great opportunity to get trash off if the beach, and B, we think it’s just an extra opportunity for visitors and residents to engage with the beach and to kind of take ownership in it, and it will be a memory that they will have when they visit,” Gilbert explained. “We’ve had a lot of families utilize the baskets and use it as an educational opportunity for their children, so it’s a little bit of both.”
Gilbert said the idea came from community members, and so far, the program has been a success.