Volunteers help clean up Masonboro

Masonboro Island was filled with boaters and beachgoers over the 4th of July weekend. With hundreds of people parking it on the island, that means hundreds of pounds of trash.

Bag after bag, volunteers picked up the last of the trash left over from boaters who went to Masonboro Island last weekend.

Workers say this is the worst they’ve seen in years.

“I couldn’t hardly see any sand. It was just littered with beer cans, and empty Styrofoam coolers; it was a mess,” said Glenn Dildy of Seatow.

“No one should have to come out on a holiday weekend and clean up after people who didn’t do the right thing,” added Hope Sutton.

Hope Sutton has been spearheading a movement to keep the island trash-free, but every holiday weekend, people miss that memo and continue to litter.

“I paddled over from Wrightsville Beach, and I could see trash before I even crossed the inlet,” she said.

Volunteers grabbed the last bag of trash off Masonboro Island, and brought it to Wynn Plaza. Now it’s up to the town of Wrightsville Beach to take it all away.

Masonboro Island is technically not a state park, which means there is no funding or staff to help clean up, or to even place trashcans on the island.

Last Labor Day, volunteers took the time to hand out trash bags at all the public boat ramps hoping to raise awareness, and encourage folks to clean up after themselves.

The volunteers say it worked, but it cost money and took time, so they can’t do it every holiday weekend.