They are culturally and economically important and provide habitat for many species, as well as storm and flood protection for coastal communities. Beaches are also the top tourist attraction in Florida and the strongest element of Florida’s state brand.
Tackling ocean trash means both cleaning up what’s already there and stopping trash and plastics at their source—preventing trash and plastic pollution from entering Florida’s waterways and beaches in the first place.
We know from the International Coastal Cleanup that Florida volunteers have picked up hundreds of thousands of unnecessary, plastic products over the past three decades.
In 2017 alone, Florida volunteers picked up more than 14,000 plastic bags and 26,500 plastic straws—each of these items could have otherwise injured or killed an endangered sea turtle nesting on the beach or foraging in waters just offshore.
Miami will be the first major U.S. city to conduct a comprehensive, city-wide plastic pollution survey.
This survey will quantify the sources of plastic pollution across Miami, identify actions that can reduce the city’s plastic pollution inputs and provide a data-driven set of policy guidance for solutions.
Ocean Conservancy and the city will be working collaboratively with outside scientific experts to conduct this survey in 2021.
The City of Miami’s water decontamination vessel, called Scavenger 2000, removes more than 5,000 cubic feet of floating marine debris per year and significantly improves water quality by injecting 150,000 liters of oxygen into 600,000 gallons of water per hour into the Miami River.
Miami Beach and Ocean Conservancy are partnering with Big Blue & You to work with local high school students to help businesses in Miami Beach improve their environmental sustainability by reducing their use of single-use plastics.
