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Big Cleanup Along Delaware Coast

Delaware Coastal Cleanup website

DOVER, Del. (AP) - Environmental officials say Delaware's annual coastal cleanup netted almost four tons of trash from the state's waterways and coastline this year.

The cleanup effort involved almost 1,600 volunteers who picked up 3.8 tons of trash from 47 sites along 75 miles of shoreline stretching from Wilmington to Fenwick Island.

Officials say about one-quarter of the trash collected consisted of recyclables, mostly aluminum cans and glass and plastic beverage bottles.

But the haul also included a cellphone, a parmesan cheese shaker, a large rug, a statue of the Virgin Mary, a vacuum cleaner, a mermaid doll, Mardi Gras beads, televisions and 16,158 cigarette butts.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.