Share this @internewscast.com
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Volunteers hit the beaches Tuesday morning to clean up after Monday night’s Fourth of July festivities.
The city of Jacksonville, Keep Jacksonville Beautiful and Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol are heading up the effort, which is annually one of the largest clean-up efforts at the beaches.
“I’m very excited. I’m gonna start with the locals. The locals were out here in hoards. We are out here at 6 a.m.,” said Kevin Brown with Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol. “Locals we’re already out and we’ve had several groups come out. It’s just a good feeling when Duval comes together and we clean up our mess.”
People leave behind all sorts of garbage — from fireworks to paper trash — and volunteers are gathering from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Tuesday to pick up everything they can and haul it away.
“We’re seeing a lot of plastics and food utensils and things like that,” Brown said.
The annual cleanup is especially important for sea wildlife that can get sick from the junk left behind that either stays ashore or could get in the water and float to another area.
Last year, the event drew 221 volunteers who donated 442 hours to collect 150 bags or 3,000 pounds of debris stuffed full of plastics, paper and fireworks remnants.
“We love to help people with kindness. We’re always going to be united, not divided because God made us special. To be ourselves,” volunteer Naomi Smith said. “We have to all work together to make this beach clean.”
Volunteers don’t need to pre-register and can pick up trash bags and gloves at any of these locations:
-
Atlantic Beach at the ocean next to One Ocean resort
-
Jacksonville Beach at Beach Boulevard at the ocean, next to the lifeguard station
-
Neptune Beach at Seagate Avenue at the ocean
Participants must be at least 18 or accompanied by an adult, should wear sturdy footwear and sun protection, and should bring their own drinking water.
