PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Cleanups happened all over the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday to pick up what was left of the Fourth of July beach trips, parties, and firework celebrations.
"It's all hands on deck,” said Audrey Cevaer with the Trash Pirates.
Several groups teamed up to help clean around Madeira Beach on Wednesday morning. Cevaer was up bright and early to beat the heat and toss the trash.
"There's usually a little bit more trash on the beach the day after a holiday,” said Cevaer.
With all that trash, some people even dubbed it the “Filth of July."
Teams took their buckets and pickers and diligently swept the beach for garbage, finding items like beach toys, paper towels, cigarette butts, small plastics, and fireworks from the night before.
"110 pounds just in a few hours with about 30 volunteers,” said Megan Jackson, a program coordinator with Keep Pinellas Beautiful.
The collection continued across the bay on Davis Islands for an after the 4th of July cleanup in partnership with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and Freedom Boat Club.
Jackson encourages people to be responsible when they go to the beach so that it can stay clean for residents, visitors, and even wildlife.
"If we can get everybody to kind of instill that sense of ownership and responsibility, then I feel like we'll start seeing a bigger difference,” said Jackson.
