Foam from Va. Beach hotel construction litters beach
VIRGINIA BEACH — Randy Harris was stretching at the fitness park on 36th Street around lunchtime Friday when he noticed pieces of plastic foam littering the beach.
Harris, a paddleboard instructor, often picks up trash in and around local waterways. He started walking north to track down the source.
The foam appeared to be drifting from the top of the Embassy Suites, a hotel under construction on 40th Street, Harris said. He saw workers on the roof fiddling with what appeared to be white foam panels.
By 2 p.m. Friday, thousands of white plastic foam pellets were stuck in the wet sand by the water’s edge between 38th and 42nd streets. A few bigger chunks blew across the beach.
In the past, Harris has seen plastic foam drift through the air from hotel construction projects and build up along the water line. Virginia Beach experienced a storm on Thursday and higher than normal winds continued into Friday.
W.M Jordan of Newport News is the contractor building the Embassy Suites hotel; Gold Key | PHR, run by CEO Bruce Thompson, is developing it. Harris went into the job site trailer and asked a worker if he could talk to someone about the issue, but couldn’t get anyone to listen, he said.
“There was just no urgency,” Harris said. The work on hotel continued through the afternoon.
David Ancarrow, W.M. Jordan’s project manager, confirmed Friday evening that the debris came from a subcontractor cutting foam to put on the side of the building. The company began cleaning it up after The Pilot inquired about it, he said.
Ancarrow also said a meeting is planned Monday morning to discuss the problem. “We’re coming up with best practices to make sure it’s not going to happen again,” he said.
Drew Lankford, a spokesman for the city’s beach operations, said a city crew is looking into the matter.