Beach Santa collects 1 millionth piece of litter
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Keeping the area beautiful is the goal of one Moncks Corner man, affectionately known as “Beach Santa,” and on Monday morning Howard Hogue reached a milestone in his efforts to clean up litter in the community.
Hogue, or Beach Santa, began collecting litter on Isle of Palms years ago as part of his retirement. He joined the launch of a grassroots conservation group in the summer of 2018 and later connected with the South Carolina Aquarium’s conservation team to begin documenting his personal litter count.
“I come across everything. I find brand-new fishing gear, I find golf balls, I find brand new tools in packages. All the litter, I find money – what’s out there l find it,” he said.
Through his reports on the SC Aquarium’s Litter Journal, which can be found on their Citizen Science App, Hogue has participated in more than 2,160 litter cleanup sweeps. And on Monday he collected his one millionth piece of litter.
Hogue and beach litter cleanup volunteers gathered at Front Beach on Isle of Palms before heading out to the beach to begin collecting. Leaders and volunteers with Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew and South Carolina Aquarium, Isle of Palms city officials, and community members and conservation groups were on hand for the event.
“If you come to the beach, you don’t need to bring the kitchen sink,” he reminded people. “If you have kids, limit them to three toys. Think about what you’re bringing and try to eliminate plastic items, plastic bags, Styrofoam, the drinks with sippy straws – use things that you can use again […] If you do, please take all your litter with you. Don’t leave it on the beach, take it home. If it gets into the trash cans here it can blow out and end up in the environment.”
Hogue said his efforts to reduce litter along the beach have been a wonderful journey. “Hopefully I am making the environment, the planet, a cleaner place for everybody and for future generations,” he said.
Removing litter from the beach isn’t his only area of focus. In recent years, Hogue has expanded his reach to collect litter from areas across the tri-county including North Charleston, boat landings in Berkeley County, and roadways in Moncks Corner.
His efforts were briefly slowed earlier this year after suffering a life-threatening heart attack while cleaning up litter in North Charleston. But the medical emergency did not keep him down for long as Hogue resumed his litter patrol only weeks later.
Data from his personal documentation show Beach Santa has collected more than 277,000 smoking litter items like cigarette butts and over 201,000 items have been removed from Isle of Palms.
Hogue said he hopes he’s inspired enough people to get out and start collecting litter on their own. “I’m not sure if they’ll get to a million items, but whatever they pick up, every piece of litter counts,” he said.
He was also recognized with a special plaque marking the milestone.
