South Carolina Trash Bin Mysteriously Washes Ashore In Ireland

By Sarah Tate

November 9, 2021

Photo: Getty Images

Even trash bins sometimes want to escape to a faraway land.

A trash can from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina somehow got into the Atlantic Ocean and found its way to Ireland, washing ashore in Mulranny, a town on the country's western coast, per WMBF. Keith McGreal lives along the coast and discovered the blue bin on Sunday (November 7). Realizing how odd it was to find a garbage can from a half a world away, he decided to write a note to officials in Myrtle Beach.

"We spotted the stickers and though it would be a good news story," McGreal wrote. "Amazing to think it traveled all the way across the Atlantic."

The City of Myrtle Beach shared McGreal's photos of the bin, which looks worse for wear after its transatlantic trip, on its official Facebook page.

"That's an amazing voyage for a trash barrel," the post reads, "although we'd prefer that it stayed put on our beach, rather than gallivanting all over the world via the Gulf Stream."

Traveling trash can visits Ireland from Myrtle Beach (3,500+ miles)… Here’s the happy email exchange on Sunday about...

Posted by Myrtle Beach City Government on Monday, November 8, 2021

"I don't think it's possible to tell when it went missing, but it probably was during a wind or storm event," the City of Myrtle Beach wrote in the post. "We typically remove trash containers from the beach before a hurricane, but this one apparently had a mind of its own."

According to the news outlet, the bin is being used on the beach near where it was discovered.

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