CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Spring Breakers began blowing into Coastal Bend beaches on Friday in search of a little sun, but the area's strong winds aren't just spreading sand around.
Nueces County Coastal Parks Director Scott Cross said his crew often finds items that wouldn't stand up to Gulf Coast winds.
"Canopies -- the 10x10 canopies -- we find them all the time," he said. "City of Corpus does, city of Port Aransas. And we just call them beach skeletons because the canvas is gone and they're just mangled up hunks of metal. And we just pick them up and throw them in the dumpster."
Even though Coastal Bend winds can easily sweep debris across the beach, Corpus Christi Parks & Recreation Director Robert Dodd, however, said his department hasn't seen an increase in left-behind trash so far.
He credits the cleanliness to the city placing trash-bag dispensers along the beach.
"Beach visitors are doing a good job of placing our yellow trash bags in the trash cans and they're free," he said. "They're available there at the beach."
Dodd told 3NEWS that they are prepared for this week's influx of tourists.
"Our crowds have been really good and, for the most part, well-behaved," he said. "As far as beach operations is concerned, we collected about 12 tons of trash and debris yesterday, which is typical for a summer weekend."
Cross told 3NEWS that tourists are normally pretty good at picking up after themselves.
"Not here at Padre Balli or I.B. Magee because we do a good job of promoting us as family-friendly environment. And those are most of our R-V guests are families," he said.
If residents see a trash problem on the beach or elsewhere, they are encouraged to call the city for information at 311 to report it.
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