- May 2, 2024
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Volunteers picked trash along the ocean and river.
Volunteers dodged raindrops while picking up trash at five different sites along the ocean and Halifax River in Ormond Beach on Sept. 20. Throughout all of Volusia County, 1,900 people had signed up at 41 sites. The rain may have kept some away, and final figures were not available at press time.
Typically, the most common item found on the annual cleanup is cigarette butts, at 39%. Next are plastic pieces at 15% and bottle caps at 9%.
Peculiar items found in the past include shoes, toys, fake fingernails, sink parts, TVs and auto parts.
Becki O’Keefe, site manager at Andy Romano Park, said hypodermic needles and balloons are also commonly found.
“Any trash in the ocean can injure marine life,” she said. “Plastic bottle caps are the most commonly found items in the stomachs of sea birds.”
August Wenger, a volunteer who was there with a group from Villari’s Martial Arts, Ormond Beach, said he had learned at the Marine Science Center that cigarette butts can impact the intestines of birds.
Discarded fishing line is also a common problem, and fishermen are encouraged to recycle it.
Detailed information on trash collected is compiled by the volunteers each year and provided to the Ocean Conservancy.
