MIAMI — Right now, scientists estimate there could be as much 199 million tons of plastic in the ocean.
In fact, not one square mile of the ocean is free from plastic pollution.
That’s why a global effort took place over the weekend, with millions of volunteers in more than a hundred countries hitting our beaches and coastlines to clean up the giant mess we humans have caused, including here in South Florida.
It was the mother of all cleanups, as around 3,000 volunteers hit up 68 sites all over Miami-Dade County, from Oleta State Park down to Homestead, joining the global effort.
It’s all part of the 40th annual International Coastal Cleanup Day, launched in 1986 by Ocean Conservancy to tackle the enormous amount of litter and marine debris polluting the planet’s beaches, shorelines and waterways.
“When you send people out on the beach to pick up little bits of plastic, they see the beautiful Florida environment, and they see this trash inundating the environment, and it engages them in a way that you know sitting at home can’t,” said JP Brooker, the director of Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy.
Debra Smith was one of 179 volunteers who joined Clean Miami Beach to pick up all the trash that persistently washes up along the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
“This is my first time ever doing this, at 54, and I feel so energized doing it,” said Smith. “And if this can actually bring us together as one, I’m all for it. This is love.”
Added Clean Miami Beach Executive Director Sophie Ringle: “Last year we were here. We picked up over 3000 pounds. It honestly makes me so sad. People litter, it rains, that litter goes through the storm drains and it doesn’t just go away. It ends up in our environment.”
On the sands of Surfside, an army of volunteers joined The Plastic Fisherman to clean up the beach underneath a double rainbow.
The worldwide effort was an eye-opening experience to not just how much trash is polluting our natural spaces, but also how our buying habits are contributing to the problem.
“It’s being more conscious about the way that you are consuming products,” said volunteer Liz Rivas. “And unfortunately, corporations are not going to make that happen.”
That means the onus is on us.
The resounding message is that cleanups are not the solution, just the band-aid. Until the world gets serious about reducing our use of single-use plastics, this crisis is only going to get worse.
Volunteers with Clean This Beach Up are trying to make a dent, once again taking on the trash on the MacArthur Causeway.
“Seven years picking up thousands of pounds, when is this going to stop,” asked Clean This Beach Up CEO MJ Algarra.
Driving policy is what’s driving the effort.
“All of the volunteers here are doing citizen science, where they’re documenting what they’re finding,” said Volunteer Cleanup.org co-founder and president Dave Doebler. “The data collection has helped us in the past, inform our elected officials about why we need to make a change.”
In the end, more than 25,000 pounds of trash were picked up.
South Florida stepped up big time to protect our most precious backyard.
“We care about the environment, conserving it,” said Paige Bresky, Chief of Philanthropy and Brand Development at the Brady Hunter Foundation. “We only have one planet, and if we don’t clean it up, then who’s going to do it.”
Since its inception, the International Coastal Cleanup has mobilized over 18 million volunteers all around the world to remove more than 385 million pounds of trash from the environment, and that’s not including this year’s numbers.
If you missed the ICC and still and want to help out, visit this link to find out about clean-ups happening this weekend in South Florida.
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