Hampton Beach Trashed After Fireworks; 'Upstanding Citizens' Step in to Help

The sands of Hampton Beach Friday morning were far from the pristine quality that has netted lofty awards and best-in-the-nation consideration for the past several years, as the area was littered with a large quantity of debris and waste after Thursday's Fourth of July fireworks display.

Empty drink containers, food wrappers, bags and fast food paper plates were among the variety of refuse densely scattered around portions of Hampton's main beach, particularly around the Seashell Stage and the main fireworks launching area.

The beach annually deals with increased trash after busy or big tourism days, although local residents were particularly irritated Friday at what some have told Patch is one of the most severe instances of trash they've ever seen. Others said the issues don't stem just from people coming out to the fireworks, but rather a need for a shift in the mindset of a lot beachgoers.

"the trash on the beach is not the fireworks fault !!!! Shame on the Slobs who leave it, the Beach crews (both state & local) do what they can to keep the place clean. Please if you go to the beach to enjoy our 5 star beach, pick up after yourselves !!!!! treat it better than your house, so it will remain the best beach in New England..............." wrote Rusty Bridle, a Hampton School Board member, on Hampton-North Hampton Patch's Facebook page.

The above image and video were taken at 8 a.m. Friday by Christina Hardy as state crews worked to clean the beach, which she called a "horror." Hardy said there was a point where multiple "fine upstanding citizens" took the time "to do the right thing and pick it up" because they didn't see any state or town employees around.

Amy Bassett, the public information officer for the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, said the beach raking wasn't finished until around 8 a.m., by the estimation of one of her department's beach supervisors, because the high concentration of people still in the area after the fireworks ended prohibited crews from getting onto the sand until after 1 a.m.

As of Friday afternoon the beach was fully raked, although crews continued to hand-pick trash from along the walls, a task Bassett said that the heavy machinery — which collects the trash as it rakes the sand — can't perform. 

There was no estimate for the completion of the work, which includes routinely cleaning the bathrooms and emptying beachside trash and recycling bins, because Bassett said it's an "uphill battle" when the "beach is at its max." Many trash and recycling bins were overflowing Friday morning.

"People definitely want a clean beach," said Bassett. "We do that every night. It's really an ongoing process. I think the staff down there works very hard doing the best they can keeping the beach clean, but certainly days like this make it hard."

On a related note, Hampton Beach Village District Moderator Richard Reniere told Hampton selectmen earlier this week that state employees are now going through beach trash bins to remove recyclable materials before disposing of the refuse. Bassett confirmed Friday that no state employees are performing that work, which is something selectmen have called for in recent years due to concerns about co-mingled waste.