Volunteers showed up bright and early to Deerfield Beach on Friday to clean up trash left behind on the Fourth of July.
The Broward County chapter of Surfrider, a nonprofit dedicated to “the protection and enjoyment of the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches,” held their annual cleanup from 5-7 a.m. Friday on what the organization calls the dirtiest day of the year.
At last count, the organization had collected 880 pounds of plastic, cardboard and other debris left behind.
“Last year we were here. There were seven of us and we collected 350 pounds of trash in 45 minutes,” volunteer Jillian said. “It’s 7 o’clock now and we are already pretty much done cleaning up the beach and we have tenfold the number of volunteers this year.”
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Those volunteers, wearing gloves and sun protection gear, sorted through the trash and separated some recyclable items.
“This beach is a place where we like to recreate, and it’s not possible to do that when it’s covered in garbage,” Jillian added.
But people aren’t the only ones who use the beaches in Broward County.
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Leatherback, loggerhead and green sea turtles all nest annually on the sand from March 1 to Oct. 31.
It's not too late to help in the clean up efforts. The Miami chapter of Surfrider, in conjunction with FIU, has a cleanup planned for Friday 3-5 p.m. at Miami Beach.
