Within A Month Of Florida Easing Lockdown Restrictions, 6,000 Kg Of Trash Found On Beach

It's disturbing to know that as soon as lockdown measures were eased in Florida, people went back to old ways, rather they went back to disrespecting the surroundings.

According to a CNN report, in a little less than a month after the American state's beaches reopened to the public, more than 6,000 kg of trash and rubbish was found on the sands of Cocoa Beach.

Things got out of hand to the point that Cocoa Beach Police have given a fair warning to the visitors that if anyone is caught littering, they will be charged with a heavy fine of $250 dollars (Rs 18,850).

LADBIBLE

The force released a statement which said, "As restrictions are becoming more relaxed during this pandemic, the City of Cocoa Beach is beginning to see an influx of day-trippers to our beaches, along with piles of unlawfully discarded trash in their wake. This will not be tolerated."

Just in case the police cannot manage to catch each and every person who litters, they have requested the members of the community to alert them if such an activity takes place.

Chief Scott Rosenfeld said, "Our community works very hard to be stewards of environmental sustainability. If I need to reallocate critical resources during our peak season to combat litterers, we are no longer asking our visitors to comply with our litter laws, we expect it, and there will be consequences for offenders."

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Keep Brevard Beautiful is a local volunteer group which helps in picking up trash from beaches across the city and the organisation noticed a significant rise in the trash being left by visitors.

Over a period of three days, the group collected 297 bags of waste. The group's deputy director, Bryan Bobbitt said, "When we see something that can be a choking hazard to marine life, we make it a point to get that stuff as well. If we don't pick it up, it gets blown into the water. We've all seen the photo of the straw stuck in a sea turtle's nose or a 6-pack ring around a bird's neck."

He added, "Normally there is an uptick but what we've seen this past weekend is way above normal. It's equivalent to Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekend. People need to understand if they leave trash on the ground a bird, fish or sea turtle could be killed by it. It's not just a blight issue it's an environmental issue all around. We encourage everyone to come and enjoy the beaches but pick up after yourself."

CNN

The fact that people still haven't learnt to respect their planet is beyond comprehension.