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New Jersey beaches are clear as needles and trash wash ashore in Delaware and Maryland

Hypodermic needles have been washing up along the Atlantic Coast, off and on, for decades.

A couple strolls on the sand at Sunset Beach in Cape May Point, N.J.
A couple strolls on the sand at Sunset Beach in Cape May Point, N.J.Read moreMAGGIE LOESCH / Staff Photographer
    by Jason Nark
    Published 

Officials in New Jersey say there have been no reports of used hypodermic needles or other garbage washing up on local beaches after incidents in Delaware and Maryland over the weekend.

Rangers at Assateague State Park in Maryland discovered the garbage, which included used feminine hygiene products and cigarillo cigar tips, according to WBAL-TV 11 out of Baltimore. No injuries were reported but officials closed access to the water. Similar restrictions were placed on Chincoteague Public Beach in Virginia and Assateague Island National Seashore.

The New York Times reported that a similar spread of garbage washed ashore in Ocean City, Md., and Dewey Beach, Del., which is 28 miles south of Cape May Point as the crow flies. Local swimmers are safe for now.

“There have been no impacts reported in New Jersey,” said Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

While most beaches drastically reduce lifeguard patrols after Labor Day, the September “shoulder season” is still a popular time at the Jersey Shore, with generally warmer waters. As of Monday afternoon, there were no reports of needles washing up on any New Jersey surf lines, including Cape May, where beach patrol captain Marty Franco said the situation would be monitored.

Sadly, hypodermic needles washing ashore along the Atlantic Coast, including the Jersey Shore, is nothing new. In 2013, 36 needles washed ashore at Island Beach State Park in Ocean County. In 2011, an early-morning jogger found 47 needles on the beach in Ventnor. Officials said it was medical waste that was improperly disposed of. One of the more bizarre cases of beach needles happened in 2008, when Thomas McFarland, a disgruntled Main Line dentist, dumped 260 Accujet dental needles, 180 cotton swabs, and other waste from his office off his boat.

The unwelcome detritus has become more uncommon, however, as regulations on dumping have tightened and the ability to trace back some of the garbage, particularly medical supplies, has improved. That’s how investigators tracked down McFarland, who was charged and sentence to probation.

No one has yet been named in connection with this weekend’s waste.

To report garbage on a beach in New Jersey, you can call the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) hotline at (877) 927-6337.