Thousands come to visit the Grand Strand for the July 4. Can cities handle the clean up?

Millions of people come to visit the Grand Strand every year looking to soak up the sun, eat seafood and watch a fireworks show or two.

A good chunk of those visitors come to the Myrtle Beach area during the Fourth of July. With all the fireworks, people and food coming to the beach, some call July 5 the dirtiest beach day of the year, according to national nonprofit the Surfrider Foundation.

Public officials for North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach pushed back on the claim with city staff that already clean up beaches during the peak tourist season.

The Surfrider Foundation will host a beach cleanup at the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier in North Myrtle Beach on July 5 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Surfrider Grand Strand Secretary Sarah Mitchell said the three-month old Grand Strand chapter chose Cherry Grove because of the parade and firework show that will happen the night of July 4.

Mitchell said about 15 people have signed up to volunteer and they expect more people to join the clean up.

The nonprofit has chapters all over the east and west coast that do their own conservation and cleanup efforts for the country’s coastlines.

North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Lauren Jessie said the day after the holiday is busy for the city’s sanitation and parks and recreation departments, but they are still able to keep the beaches clean.

Jessie said she understands where Surfrider is coming from calling July 5 the “dirtiest beach day of the year,” but disagrees with the phrasing from Surfrider.

“It’s probably the busiest time of year, so we’re gonna see an increase of people on the beach,” Jessie said. “So naturally we’ll see an increase of trash, but we don’t increase manpower, we don’t have to increase our routines.”

Myrtle Beach public information officer Meredith Denari also disagrees with the phrasing of the “dirtiest beach day of the year.”

Myrtle Beach cleans up beaches the weekday after a long holiday weekend like the Fourth of July, Denari said, especially with the influx of visitors and fireworks for the holiday.

Denari also encouraged people to volunteer with Keep Myrtle Beach Beautiful and their cleanup on July 11 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Second Avenue in Myrtle Beach.

North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach officials said that fireworks are a big concern.

People aren’t allowed to launch fireworks from the beaches and encourage people to attend some of the cities’ fireworks shows instead, though some visitors may get away with launching fireworks from the beach.

The city of North Myrtle Beach will put on a free fireworks show in Cherry Grove to celebrate the Fourth of July starting at 9:30 p.m. at 3500 N. Ocean Boulevard. With traffic reversals and road closures, the city asks attendees to drive patiently and cautiously. More information about traffic and parking is available here.

Downtown Myrtle Beach’s weekly hot summer nights series and fireworks will feature a special display on July Fourth starting at 9 p.m. at 1000 N Ocean Blvd. Before the main event, visitors can the First Friday Art Walk and live music in Plyler Park.

“We may be a little biased, but we have one of the cleanest beaches in the area,” Jessie said. “Because of all our efforts and all of our volunteers and the community coming together and like I said, it takes all of us.”