It won’t inspire Nicholas Sparks to pen a sequel to his locally famous novel, but in the ongoing saga of shoreline protection, the Rodanthe landfill is certainly doing its job.
With the rising costs of beach nourishment making traditional means of erosion control impractical, Dare County has turned toward more inventive and economical measures to save its southern beaches. Dumping on Rodanthe’s beaches began late in 2017 and already trash is piled over 17 feet in many areas. The mountain of garbage serves as an effective, if malodorous, means of preserving the million dollar homes along the coast.
“We were spending millions on trying to keep the ocean at bay,” said county Commissioner Fred Sanford, “now other people are paying us to take this stuff.”
“Yeah, it sure stinks. Especially on a hot day,” said local Rodanthite Ann Jones. “But if your deck is high enough it ain’t so bad and you can look over top of it all and have a nice view of the ocean.”
The mounds of trash have made some traditional summertime activities such as sunbathing and beach volleyball a bit more challenging for visitors. On the upside, fans of surfcasting have found a number of advantages to fishing from the edge of the landfill.
“For one, you never run out of bait,” Sean Carson. “There are maggots everywhere, and man will a sea mullet hit on a maggot! Plus it’s free.”
Once the landfill in Rodanthe is at capacity operations will move south to Waves and Salvo.
My Goatman, you’re on a roll this season – keep on putting your hooves to the keyboard!