Homeowners are frustrated with what they've been finding on the beach
Trash washes up along Lake Michigan shoreline
LUDINGTON AREA -- This Lake Michigan water is crystal clear... because the trash that was in it... has washed up along the shoreline.
This stretch of beach near Ludington is known as Buttersville Penninsula beach. Homeowners are frustrated with what they've been finding on it.
"It was very scary to find the syringes and medical waste," said area homeowner Linda Cronenwett. "It seemed like it would be very dangerous to people. I was extremely grateful my grandkids had left on August first and didn't have to be here at this time."
Along 400 feet of beach, they've found crushed plastic baby bottles, cigarette butts and feminine hygiene products, but the worst things they've found are dirty ventilators, syringes and empty blood viles.
"Medical waste doesn't necessarily have to be incinerated. Only certain medical waste has to be incinerated-the rest can be dumped legally-but not in water-it is supposed to be dumped and covered," said nurse practitioner Shirley Tuller.
Because this is a private beach, the DNRE says they can't send personnel over to clean it. That's leaving homeowners to clean up the mess near their homes.
Many of the items they found have information on them leading back to Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois. The DNRE believes the waste is from a major sewer overflow that occurred in the Milwaukee area on July 25th.
Some of the homeowners 7&4 talked to have already picked up more than seven bags full of garbage.
"You could just pick it up forever and not even make a dent that you could see," said area homeowner Carol Rodwell.
The DNRE is urging those who come in contact with the syringes and medical waste to use extreme caution. They say the syringes have the potential to harbor bacteria and viruses that can spread infectious diseases like Hepatitis or HIV.
The DNRE doesn't recommend disposing of the waste in your own trash. They say if you find any, secure it in a container, tape it shut and dispose of it at the Manistee County Medical Care facility at 1505 East Parkdale Avenue -- or at the entrance booth to Ludington State Park.
