A Litter Compromise Is Proposed
During a hot and poorly attended meeting of the East Hampton Town Trustees on Tuesday, at which litter on East Hampton Village beaches was the primary focus, a compromise was proposed regarding the removal of trash receptacles.
Deborah Klughers, one of the trustees, had implored her colleagues to continue to press village officials to take the receptacles off the beaches and place them in the parking lots, but relented when it was suggested that they be moved to the lots only at night.
The trustees own and manage many of the beaches, waterways, and bottomlands in the town on behalf of the public. On July 14, the village administrator and beach manager, who attended a trustees’ meeting at their request, defended their efforts to control litter and noted that the village had received no complaints about the state of the beaches.
With five of the nine trustees present Tuesday, Ms. Klughers displayed two photographs taken by Dell Cullum, a vocal critic of litter and of receptacles on the beaches. “This garbage was scattered all the way to the water line, east and west on the shore,” she said. “What are we going to do about this, guys?” she asked. “Does anybody want to try to change this, or are we okay with this?”
Ms. Klughers had an ally in Brian Byrnes. At night, he said, receptacles may be “knocked over by an animal, or a 14-year-old animal. If it makes its way into the ocean, then we have a bigger problem, a different problem.” Garbage is less likely to enter the water if receptacles are in the parking lot, he said. Of the beach staff and marine patrol officers, “They do a great job, I understand that,” he said, “but at nighttime, you get horseplay, animals. They can’t be there 24/7 policing this.”
The trustees’ clerk, Diane McNally, who previously cast a lone dissenting vote against a request that the cans be moved, maintained her position. “I don’t think it’s going to matter if it’s on the sand or pavement,” she said. “They’re just going to drop it where they sit and walk away from it.” Enforcement, and perhaps more frequent garbage pickups, are the only solutions, she said.
Ms. McNally referred to research conducted by Walt Disney, who is said to have calculated that an average person will not walk farther than 30 feet to dispose of garbage before discarding it on the ground. “Yeah, it looks horrible, but I don’t think it’s making a detrimental impact on our waterways. The town and village are doing the best they can,” Ms. McNally said.
Ms. Klughers moved to send a letter requesting the compromise that they be removed at night, which Mr. Byrnes seconded. Over Ms. McNally’s opposition, the board voted to make that request.
Ms. McNally also told her colleagues that Madeline VenJohn, an assistant town attorney, has been asked to review the penalties for litter. The trustees would like the fine for littering on the beach, presently $100, to match that for littering on a street, sidewalk, or other public place, which is up to $1,000.
Turning to more pleasant matter, the trustees agreed to postpone their 25th annual largest clam contest by one week and to consider moving it from the grounds of the Lamb Building in Amagansett, where they meet. They had scheduled it for Sept. 27, but moved it to Oct. 4 after learning that some participants, including John Dunne, director of the town’s shellfish hatchery, had prior commitments on that date.
The largest clam contest includes a chowder contest and guests line up for free clams, oysters, and chowder.
In some years, the contest has attracted more people than the Lamb Building and its grounds can comfortably accommodate, Ms. McNally said. She suggested the Amagansett Firehouse, the senior citizens housing complex at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, also in Amagansett, or Ashawagh Hall in Springs as alternatives. The location is yet to be determined.
At last year’s contest, Ms. Klughers said, a 99-percent rate of recycling was achieved. “Let’s shoot for 100 this year,” she said.