Commentary: Removing trash from the beach requires many hands

I live on the Balboa Peninsula Point and pick up trash whenever I walk on the beach, as do a few other residents.

The Wedge especially is a horror show of discarded garbage, both along the shore and in between the rocks of the jetty.

I’m appalled at what people leave behind: old boots, sandals, huge balloons with yards of ribbon, dolls and toys of every size, gigantic plastic containers, socks, hats, underwear, broken boogie boards, beer cans, Styrofoam drink containers, diapers, condoms, syringes and every other thing imaginable.

This debris, especially the Styrofoam, gets pounded by the surf and deposited throughout the clumps of seaweed, making it often impossible to remove with your fingers.

When I remember the halcyon days of the 1950s and ‘60s, when the beaches were virtually trash-free, it’s all I can do to keep from crying. In fact, tonight on my walk, with my arms loaded down with trash, I finally did.

But not before I got really angry. I mean screaming, spitting, apoplectic angry.

You see, I asked a man walking on the beach if he could pick up a couple of Starbucks plastic cups that I couldn’t manage, and do you know what he had the nerve to say?

He looked me straight in the eye and said, “I think not.”

I asked why.

He responded: “Too many germs.”

And then he said, “I grew up down here, and it’s terrible to see all the trash people leave behind. Thanks for picking it up.”

He’s thanked me for doing something he felt no responsibility to do. Does that beat all? Mind you, the trash can is only about 20 yards away.

Now, I ask you, what’s wrong with this picture? I’m picking this stuff up with my bare hands, me, this little, 102-pound woman with a rambunctious dog in tow. And this big, agile guy is afraid of a few germs?

I’m sorry, but this is unacceptable behavior, mister. You’ve got two arms and two hands, same as I have, and you’re out here enjoying the spectacular sunset on one of the world’s most magnificent beaches.

But the thing I’ve got that you’re lacking, at the risk of sounding judgmental, is a conscience. Look over there at that beautiful sea gull pecking away at a discarded plastic container, mistaking it for food. Don’t you feel even a twinge of conscience?

If we all stopped and thought about how we’re inextricably connected to each other, the creatures of the sea and sky and our environment, and that it’s everyone’s responsibility to pick up trash on beaches instead of allowing it to be swept out to sea to contaminate our fish and ultimately, through them, sicken us, then maybe people wouldn’t worry so much about a few germs.

And maybe our beaches would be pristine once again.

SHELLEY ERVIN lives in the Balboa Peninsula Point neighborhood of Newport Beach.