'Litter critter' gulps down plastic trash at Iron Pier Beach in Riverhead

For marine mammals, gulping down a plastic snack poses grave risks. Bellies full of trash can lead to blockages, then starvation.

But at Iron Pier Beach in Riverhead, there’s a new kind of fish that nibbles away at plastic trash.

The 4-by-6-foot “litter critter” welcomes beachgoers on the pavilion of the beach on Long Island Sound, its cavernous mouth full of discarded water bottles, soda cans, summer ales and hard seltzers. The trash receptacle doubles as a public art installation intended to make recycling fun while raising awareness about keeping coastlines clean.

Town employees emptied the fish for the first time during a ceremony Wednesday and plan to recycle the contents. Officials estimate its body held between 300 and 400 bottles and cans, which started piling up since the sculpture was installed last fall. 

“People are becoming more aware. If you’ve brought it to the beach, dispose of it properly,” said Deborah Wetzel, of Riverhead, who chairs the town’s Anti-Litter Advisory Committee. “As soon as people pull into the parking lot, they see it,” Wetzel, 65, said.

The committee tapped local artist Clayton Orehek, 61, to create the wired fish. To bring the fish to life from a page in his sketchbook, he hand-bent its aluminum frame and used recycled plastic netting to create its body. Inside the fins and tail, small circles, squares and rectangles — scrap pieces from other projects — create a mosaic-like effect. Solar-powered lights used as eyes make the creature glow at night.

“It had to be practical and be kind of fun for the kids,” Orehek said.

It was created to hold about 500 cans and bottles and can be tipped over to ease removal of the contents, he said.

Orehek is no stranger to interactive, public art. His portfolio includes several pieces created for Reflextions Riverhead, an immersive outdoor art gallery in Grangebel Park.

Wetzel said the committee members were inspired by images that went viral online of similar steel sculptures “Yoshi” in Mangaluru, India, and “Goby” in Bali, Indonesia. The idea has since been replicated all over the world.

National Grid provided a $4,300 grant to the town's anti-litter committee to build the fish, according to public affairs manager Lauren Perry. A portion of the grant also helped buy reflective vests for volunteers to use during spring and fall town litter cleanups.

The grant is part of the Project C program, which funds environmental, social and community initiatives across the state. Since the initiative began in 2021, the utility has funded more than 50 projects totaling about $2 million on Long Island, Perry said.

Elected officials and environmental advocates touted the installation as a success during Wednesday’s ceremony. Though regular trash and recycling bins were already installed at the public beach, the fish helps call attention to the pervasive pollution problem.

“Children love to feed the fish,” said councilwoman Joann Waski, the liaison to the anti-litter group. “This program is teaching them that this is where the recyclables go.”

Installing the fish also builds on other sustainability initiatives at Iron Pier. Wetzel frequently walks along the shore, plucking trash, fishing gear, bottle caps and other items on the way. “It just amazes me how people litter,” she said.

The beach is also one of 83 sites on Long Island outfitted with a cleanup kiosk by Relic Design, a Remsenburg-based company that aims to reduce marine debris.

An analysis by Ocean Conservancy estimates that 11 million metric tons of plastic litter enters oceans worldwide every year. A 2022 report by the organization listed bottles and cans among the top 10 kinds of litter picked up during cleanup events, along with food wrappers, plastic bags, cigarette butts and other single-use food items like straws.

In Long Island Sound, plastic pollution is widespread. A recent study found microplastics in 97% of samples taken in the sound from New York City to Fishers Island.

Town officials said the cans and bottles emptied from the fish will be sorted for recycling. Waski said the town wants to install similar receptacles at three other town beaches.

"It’s pretty incredible that people are responding the way that they are to it," she said, "and it’s keeping our beach cleaner."