NORFOLK, Va. - As Sarah Sterzing arrived at Community Beach Park in Ocean View Wednesday morning, the day after the Fourth of July, she saw lots of trash left behind.
"It was beyond startling and upsetting," said Sterzing, the Program Manager of Keep Norfolk Beautiful for the city.
She and others then began cleaning it all up.
"It was my worst Fourth of July this year," Sterzing said. "I think we just saw an overpowering of people out on the beaches, which is great, but with that they come with their stuff and they're not thinking about their impact."
That impact could still be seen Wednesday with trash still lying out on the beach, including bottles, Capri Sun packages and plates.
"It was sort of an abuse of this beautiful public space we have," said Sterzing.
The city says with lots of people hitting the beach this weekend, there was going to be a lot of trash and they tried to keep up with it. They have new all-terrain vehicles that are going around and picking up trash.
The city says the problem, however, is people stacking already full bins.
"You don't have to use the public bins," Sterzing said. "If you live locally, take it home and put it in your own green bit or put it in a bin that's not overflowing."
The Ocean View Civic League thinks maybe more trash bins would help.
There are efforts to clean up all of this. There was an event to help clean up the beach Wednesday with another happening Friday, starting at 2 p.m. at 13th View Street.
People can bring their own supplies, but they will also have plenty to share, Sterzing said.
"The holidays are the hardest and we want to make sure people are thinking about it before they come out and that they do pack out what they do pack in," she said.
