The Beach is Not an Ash Tray!!!

On Tuesday, Aug. 14, Team Brick Alley descended on for a beach clean up. Kristin from the Clean City Program gave us a big hand by lending us some materials to help the collection. Several Brick Alley Pub staff members were joined by a few Newport residents that were eager to lend a helping hand. Bruce Long of Del’s Lemonade gave all participants free Del’s for the day as well.

When we arrived on Tuesday our initial impression was that the beach was immaculate and may not be in need of much help. None the less, we donned our plastic gloves, grabbed our trash bags, and spread out in search of our catch. It did not take long to realize that our initial evaluation was far from accurate. Over the course of the next hour we collected about seventy pounds of trash ranging from plastic bottles to a discarded broken surf board. The most eye opening part of the clean up was the grotesque amount of cigarette butts that had been jammed into the sand as if they were going into a favorite ash tray.

NEWS FLASH: BUTTS ARE LITTER!!! Where the heck do you think they end up when you leave them on the beach or flick them out of the window of your car, and go down the storm drain? In the water that’s where. The Bay and waters that surround our beautiful island are our most precious resource. If we do not do what is required to protect it, then our local economy is out the window, period. As much as I would like to think that everyone comes to Newport to eat at Brick Alley Pub, which is just not the case. We are all very lucky to live and do business in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Lets all do our part to keep it that way. If you know of a clean up project with in Newport, please let us know. We will consider adding it to the list of upcoming Team Brick Alley projects.