This video story was reported and produced by Caylee Cottrell.
On the first Saturday of every month, a group of volunteers comes out to Madiera Beach to clean up trash.
Kandi Maiden founded Trash Pirates, a community service organization focused on picking up plastics and other waste that litter the beach.
“We’ve had up to 150 volunteers on a Saturday Morning,” Maiden said. “I just wish people would be more mindful.”
According to National Geographic, every year 9 million metric tons of plastic enters the ocean. This amount equates to a garbage truck full of plastic that gets dumped into the oceans every minute.
Brad Newberry, a volunteer for Trash Pirates, is worried about how the beaches will look for future generations.
“I’m not going to be here forever, so why not help keep the beach clean,” Newberry said. “So so many people can enjoy it even after me.”
Experts say by 2050, plastics may outweigh fish in the oceans. Americans alone use about 500 million plastic straws every day. According to the World Wildlife Fund, plastics can take 200 years to decompose.
Dan Cleary, also a volunteer for Trash Pirates, suggests that we do simple things like replacing plastic water bottles with reusable ones.
“One thing we could do is eliminate the use of single-use plastics,” Cleary said.
After a while, the waste left on beaches can break down into microplastics. Volunteers must pick up the trash before it breaks down and becomes undetectable to the human eye. The broken-down microplastics get ingested by animals, causing bodily harm.
The Trash Pirates look to bring their community together around fixing this problem.
“Our goal is to educate the community that if everybody helps and everybody pitches in and does their little part, that it will eventually make a difference,” Cleary said. “Every little bit is going to help.”
Some policy-makers, including those in Tampa, are looking to cut single-use plastics to prevent them from entering our waterways and harming wildlife. In September, the Tampa City Council passed a resolution supporting the restriction of single-use plastics and Styrofoam on city properties.
The Trash Pirates will continue to meet on the first Saturday of every month. Some bring their children along with them, hoping that they will spread the message to the generation after them.
“I have children,” Newberry said. “I want to keep this beautiful for them and hopefully they do the same for their children.”
