Local Resident Presents Idea For Dumpster At Beaches

Photo: Ditch Plains parking lot on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 6 a.m. Courtesy of Dell Cullum.

Over the past several years, local environmental advocate and wildlife photographer Dell Cullum has noticed that there has been an increase in littering at local beaches.

At the Town Board meeting last Thursday, Oct. 2, he pitched his idea for replacing the small trash cans with large dumpsters at local beaches.

“It’s the most logical solution,” he said. “The dumpsters will give [litterers] room to throw the trash out.”

Cullum was born and raised in East Hampton in the 1960’s and 70’s. After moving back and forth, he has lived in the area for the past five years and first noticed the problem when he began to go to the beach to photograph the sunrise every morning for his ”East Hampton Sunrise Collection” about four years ago.

“There were very few people at the beach that early, so I was one of the first people on the beach and i would see the worst of the trash firsthand,” he said. “Most people come to the beach after everybody cleaned everything up.”

He began to take photos of the trash to show during the board meetings in addition to presenting the idea for dumpsters.

“I have a really good feeling about it,” he said. “There is no failure in it. It’s common sense, more people means more garbage means more room for garbage.”

He says the problem is in all beaches in East Hampton, “from Montauk to Wainscott” and hopes to have the problem solved before next summer.

“There’s nothing that can’t be fixed about this,” Cullum said.

Recently, the town started an “Adopt-A-Road” program, which helped to solve the littering problem in the roads.

Cullum supports the program, and hopes to see similar action taken to decrease the littering in the beaches.

“[The program] is brilliant. We need more of that, less talk, more action and better results,” he said.

The town announced October to be ”Recycling Awareness Month” and has planned several events and programs this month to curb littering.

Related links:

East Hampton Town Presents “Recycling Awareness Month”

Southampton Town Highway Department Cleans Town’s Mess