Navy: 2 Sailors To Blame For Trash Washing Up On Beaches

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Navy says two Virginia-based sailors threw compacted trash off their ship.

WAVY-TV reports the trash discs had been on the USS Whidbey Island. The landing dock ship is based at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach.

The Navy compresses plastic waste into discs for easy storage until ships reach port. The discs were found last month washed up on beaches on North Carolina's Outer Banks. One resident told WAVY she collected 17 discs in Kill Devil Hills.

The Navy says marking on the discs confirmed they came from the ship. So far 19 discs have been recovered. It's estimated that up to 60 were thrown overboard.

Throwing trash overboard violates Navy policy and environmental regulations. The Navy says appropriate action will be taken regarding the sailors.