To keep our marine debris removal efforts going strong and remain socially distanced, Loggerhead Marinelife Center is holding self-guided beach cleanups every Saturday from 10:00 am – 1:30 pm.
To participate in a cleanup, volunteers can visit LMC’s back deck to pick up supplies (a cotton bag and gloves) and head to the beach access point across the street to start their cleanup.
July’s Results
During July’s cleanups, 206 volunteers came out to pick up beach cleanup supplies and help keep our beaches clean by removing over 192.6 lbs. of trash, 80.3% of which was plastic.
Consistently, we find the top five items removed from the beach are made of plastic. Most often, the top 3 items found during our cleanups are pieces of plastic items that were once whole, but have broken down over time into smaller and smaller pieces in the marine environment.
Each and every piece of debris removed from the marine environment is important to help protect our marine life.
Additionally, during our July cleanups, not one but TWO octopus traps were found by beach cleanup participants. These traps, originally from West Africa, ride the ocean’s currents for over 4,000 miles to wash up on Florida beaches.
July 2020 Marine Debris Sort Report
Following every beach and underwater cleanup, Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s conservation department sorts and records every piece of debris removed from the beach. Collecting and compiling this data allows LMC to identify the types, quantities, and origins of common items of debris found in our marine environment. Using this information, we are able to develop and implement targeted conservation programs and pollution prevention initiatives to reduce marine debris.
