Keep your Beaches Clean no Matter what Season

by Judith Nelson
Cherrington Enterprises

Hurricanes and natural disasters can wreak havoc on our beautiful beaches, turning them into all too unnatural dumping grounds for all types of debris. The piles of broken and tangled debris not only leave the beach unattractive, but can be a safety hazard for birds and beachgoers. Broken up roads, wood fragments, nails – all manner of debris can cover the beach and prevent beach patrons from using and enjoying it. It can be a daunting task to attempt to restore these precious sands to their original state, and often no amount of hand raking or picking can do the job.

These days, thankfully, there are mechanical beach screening machines to do the job. Beaches in the hurricane zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean are using this type of equipment, both for major damage clean-up and for ongoing maintenance to keep their beaches in pristine condition, beautiful, safe, and ready for tourists and beach patrons to enjoy.

As the accompanying photos show, these machines, which are available in both towed and convenient self-propelled versions, lift the sand and screen out a very broad range of debris, from the broken asphalt strewn throughout the sand in a national park, to driftwood, rocks, glass, and other dangerous debris which threaten the safety and enjoyment of these beachgoers . The machines do far more than any type of manual clean- up can, since they actually process the sand, screening out the impurities. The best equipment comes equipped with the ability to change the hole size of their screens to the size best suited for the particular debris – for instance, a larger hole size screen was used to screen out these chunks of asphalt . A smaller screen size could be installed later, for instance to use in ongoing maintenance in removing cigarette butts and so on.

These beachcleaner machines screen out the debris and collect it in a hopper – on certain machines these dump hoppers may be raised for emptying into receptacles, while other types of compact units even have convenient removable bags to hold the debris.

There are other benefits to screening the sand besides removing the obvious flotsam and jetsam. Seaweed which harbors insects and emits undesirable odors as it decays is removed. In addition, the sand is lifted and sifted and thereby exposed to the sun’s purifying ultraviolet rays - the best way to kill bacteria and ensure a clean and sanitized beach.

Most machines these days have an automatic grooming attachment, which leaves a nice finish on the beach, and lets your patrons know that you’ve taken care of the beach for them.

Resorts throughout our best tourist areas are finding that patrons fully expect a beautiful beach that lives up to those travel posters! A mechanical sand screener can be the convenient way to offer that beautiful beach, every day!