Our Beaches, Our Environment, Our Responsibility

To address this problem, we held the first City Employee Beach Cleanup on April 22 in observance of Earth Day. A group of 17 employees gathered at the Simon Dezer Beach Access and walked north or south, circling back to deposit trash that included straws, plastic utensils, wood with metal attached, towels, clothing, flip flops, beach chairs, bottles, cans, paper wrappers and cigarette butts.

The next Beach Cleanup called on our residents to meet on June 15 at the Ellen Wynne Beach Access. A group of 100 people filled 12 large garbage bags of trash and some items, which did not even fit in the bags. The haul included straws, plastic utensils, coolers, a broken umbrella, towels, clothing, shoes and cigarette butts.

Mark your calendar for future beach cleanups: October 6, 8:00 am at Samson Oceanfront Park and Saturday, December 21, 8:00 am at the Ellen Wynne Beach Access.

At the June Commission Meeting, we also discussed the possibility of banning straws. Other cities have banned straws, polystyrene and single-use plastics in various ways. Plastics are not biodegradable; they end up in the ocean and in the species inhabiting it. And coastal cities are especially vulnerable. We must attack this environmental problem at both the practical and policy levels. It’s our collective responsibility.

For more information, my email is dgoldman@sibfl.net and my direct phone number is 786.512.6364.