Despite crackdown, beachgoers still litter on Folly Beach

FOLLY BEACH -- Mounds of empty beer cans, boxes and other trash littered the beach near 10th Street East on Sunday afternoon, the very day The Post and Courier featured an article saying the city was cracking down on litter.

Folly Beach resident Jamie Wilson was horrified. She was one of several residents to call the police to report a crowd of several hundred young people scattering on the beach.

"It's just a sad sight, with all the things written in the newspaper today," she said.

Within about an hour, officers from Folly Beach Public Safety and the Charleston County Sheriff's Office and a state constable were there, offering the group garbage bags to start cleaning up the mess or get ticketed.

Joseph Davis of Mount Pleasant, along with several other young men, hauled off bags of trash to bins along East Arctic Avenue, as officers stood nearby watching.

"I come to Folly Beach because it's the only beach where you can drink beer," Davis said. "I'm doing my part to keep it that way."

Beer is permitted on the beach in plastic cups.

People often bring cases of beer but don't think to bring bags to haul off the trash, Folly Beach Public Safety Special Operations Coordinator Mike Jackson said. A number of residents came down to the beach Sunday to offer trash bags for cleanup, he said.

This group got off with a warning, since they were still there to clean it up, he said.

"I think it's worked pretty good," Jackson said of the crackdown. "Just talking about it has helped a lot. We feel like it's been pretty effective."

The city planned to issue a more comprehensive report today.

Reach Dave Munday at 937-5553 or dmunday@postandcourier.com.