Beach Santa's Litter Count Will Hit 1 Million Monday Morning

After moving to Moncks Corner when he retired, Howard Hogue began collecting litter around seven or eight years ago on Isle of Palms, earning the nickname Beach Santa. As he joined the launch of the grassroots conservation organization Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew in the summer of 2018, he connected with the South Carolina Aquarium's conservation team and started working with them to document his personal litter counts in the Litter Journal on the aquarium's Citizen Science App. Remarkably, Hogue will collect his millionth piece of litter on Monday, April 27th.

Since then, he has been recognized by the City of Isle of Palms with the Signal 30 Award, and he helped lobby for the city's beach smoking ban, which was enacted in 2020. 

He still returns regularly to remove litter from the island and helps lead Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew, but has expanded his efforts to many locations across the Lowcountry. That includes parks in North Charleston, boat landings in Berkeley County, and roadways in Moncks Corner. His documented 1 million litter items represents nearly a third of all items in the Litter Journal. For comparison, the Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew has engaged thousands of volunteers over the same period to collect and document 180,000+ items.

BEACH SANTA'S NUMBERS

Recorded with South Carolina Aquarium's Litter Journal on their Citizen Science App

  • 2,160+ litter cleanup sweeps
  • 1 million documented litter and debris items - expected as of April 29
  • 277,000+ smoking litter items, mostly cigarette butts
  • nearly 1/3 of all Litter Journal data
  • 201,000+ items removed from Isle of Palms

BE ONE OF SANTA'S HELPERS

  • Volunteer at a litter cleanup like the sweeps held by Isle of Palms Cleanup Crew.
  • Clean up litter on your own.
  • Capture your litter data in South Carolina Aquarium's Litter Journal.
  • Abide by local regulations on items allowed at the beach.
  • Limit packaging and disposable items you bring to natural and public spaces.
  • Rely on reusable drinkware, straws, bags, food  containers and cutlery.
  • Don’t smoke at the beach. Dispose of cigarette litter properly.
  • Leave only footprints.