Litter on the Sakonnet Harbor breakwater is nothing new. What is is a change in policy and hope for improvement.

A two-yard Dumpster now sits at the breakwater entrance, placed there about a week ago at the behest of the harbor commission. The commission is contracting with Lawrence Waste to service it.

The town hasn’t had trash barrels at the breakwater in years, but commission and town council member Gary Mataronas said the trash problem is only getting worse. He believes there has to be an option for visitors who might otherwise leave their trash behind and sully the harbor.

“It bewilders me why anyone would do that,” he said of littering. “It’s such a beautiful place but some people don’t respect it.”

Much of the problem comes from fishermen who leave behind squid boxes, tangles of line, food containers, fish racks and worse. Mataronas said he’s seen upwards of 100 people fishing the breakwater on busy days, and while some clean diligently, not enough of them pack out what they bring in, he said.

“They’d rather just leave it” than take it home and then dispose of it.

Chris Brady, the assistant harbormaster and Sakonnet Point Club marina manager, recently did an extensive cleanup along the breakwater with the harbormaster, digging trash out of the riprap and taking it out by boat rather than foot. And Mataronas said club workers and other town employees and private citizens try to clean up where they can.

Mataronas hopes giving anglers an option will help, and new “Carry in carry out” signs are also being put in: “We’ll see how it goes.”