MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Volunteers fanned out across Miami-Dade County on Saturday for the 44th annual Baynanza Biscayne Bay Cleanup Day, a countywide effort to remove trash from the bay and surrounding waterways.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and the Department of Environmental Resources Management said the event is expected to mobilize about 5,000 volunteers at 33 locations across all 13 County Commission districts.
“From Miami Gardens to Homestead, and from Miami Beach to Hialeah, we all depend on Biscayne Bay,” DERM Director Loren Parra wrote in a news release. “This makes Baynanza the perfect opportunity to show our love for our Bay by protecting its beauty and helping restore it.”
County officials said Baynanza is Miami-Dade’s largest community cleanup and has grown into a monthslong series of more than 60 events aimed at restoring Biscayne Bay, which officials describe as central to the region’s environment and economy.
Last year, event organizers said volunteers collected 35,000 pounds of trash, and this year they expect to collect even more.
“In Miami-Dade County, our environment is our economy, our well-being and our future,” Levine Cava wrote. “Our Bay is not only the Blue Heart of our community. It’s also vital to our economy, generating $64 billion locally each year.”
The cleanup day, which ran from 9 a.m. to noon, capped this year’s Baynanza programming, which has been held annually for more than four decades.
“We of course are protecting all of our marine life but more than that we are protecting our economy that really relies on a safe bay,” said Loren Parra, director of environmental resources management. “We really want to make sure that we have a safe bay to protect fishing industry the cruising industry and anyone who relies on a safe and healthy bay.”
Event organizers said participants received cleanup supplies, water and commemorative T-shirts, and students could earn community service hours.
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