So called because of the abundance of ‘sea glass’ that forms the bed of the beach, Glass Beach may at first alarm the ecotourist due the circumstances under which this beach was formed.
In the early parts of the last century, local residents were responsible for throwing away tons of rubbish down the cliffs onto what is now the beach. They threw away glass, household appliances and even a few cars were rolled off the edge. The local authorities eventually put a stop to this and since then a number of clean-up projects have been put into action. What is most remarkable, however, is that over the decades the pounding waves have since cleansed the beach wearing down the discarded glass into the small, smooth, coloured trinkets that cover the beach today.
The green traveler will marvel at nature’s determination to turn the careless refuse of man into something that is now highly beautiful and is in fact very desirable. Indeed, many tourists come to the beach with the idea of collecting a bucketful of the smoothed-glass sand – do not do this, as the beach is now the official property of the state and anyone who removes the glass will be breaking the law.
Tours of the beach can be found at zimbio.com to give you a full sense of the environmental history of the beach.
The ecotourist can find green accommodation in the area at the reputed Living Light Inn. Here, one can expect to be treated to organic bedding, a whole-house water filtration system second to none, non-toxic biodegradable and non-allergenic cleaning products, low impact waste practices, and all-organic beverages.
All in all Glass beach is a stunning feat of nature and one that all green travellers should take the time out to see.