A fish that eats recyclables could be coming to Lewes beaches

Nate Landis held up a small metal fish for the Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission to see.

The local artist was showing off a miniature version, or scale model, of a proposed recycling receptacle that could one day help keep the city’s beaches clean.

The commission is considering having Landis build a much larger version, with a mouth where people could throw their plastic and glass. It is an effort to try and get visitors to put disposables in the proper place.

“The city has difficulty recycling at the beach. People throw their trash in the recycle bins, which contaminates the entire bin. So, we’ve actually pulled the recycling bins off the beach,” said Assistant City Manager Janet Reeves, who chairs the commission.

Reeves said the city gets charged when it brings contaminated recyclables to the transfer station.

Commissioner Bill Adelman said he is concerned that recyclables in the fish would also quickly get contaminated.

Reeves said the idea for the big fish was born from the Lewes Environmental Subcommittee’s 2024 Footprint Project, in which the public said recycling should be a priority.

Commissioners saw photos of similar fish-turned-trash-cans being used by communities around the world to gobble up recyclables.

Landis said he would build the fish out of aluminum. He could make it any size, possibly 10 feet long and 8 feet tall. 

He said his concept would have a hinged head that would open so the recyclables could be dumped into a bin and hauled away.

Landis said he favors anchoring the piece on a concrete slab.

But beach Commissioner Kay Carnahan said that would be an eyesore.

“I don’t want to end up like Canalfront Park and have an unsightly concrete pad in a low spot,” she said. “I don’t think anybody is going to want to sit next to it on a beach day. So, I don’t know if it goes on the sand or the parking lot.”

Reeves said the receptacle would be an educational opportunity. She said there could be a sign encouraging children to feed the fish.

Commissioners also discussed the possibility of instituting a carry in-carry out system for trash at the beach, like that in Cape Henlopen State Park.

But, the consensus was that system would take a lot of education and could lead to more trash being left on the beaches.

Karen Ryder, who lives in Lewes, offered another idea for keeping the beaches clean.

“[The fish] is another installation of art that can really add to our community,” Ryder said. “Next to the fish, you could have a trash pail with a dog’s head on it, feed the dog the trash.”

The commission voted unanimously to proceed with the concept of the big fish bin, in collaboration with the Lewes Public Art Committee.

There is no projected cost or timetable for the project.