Fourth of July beachgoers leave trail of trash

On Tuesday morning, Siesta Key resident Gayle Paul crossed Beach Road and signed up on the spot for the 3rd annual Liberty Litter Cleanup. 

“I just think it’s such a crime,” Paul said. “It seems to happen every year. We’ve found just about anything and everything.”

This year she watched the fireworks display on the beach the evening before from her balcony.

“They were absolutely gorgeous, especially the grand finale,” Paul said. 

Since 1987, Paul has owned a condo at Our House at the Beach just across the street from the main public beach. She decided to join the cleanup effort on a whim in the morning. 

Keep Sarasota County Beautiful Program Coordinator Wendi Crisp lead the effort on Siesta Key Beach. A total of 60 volunteers showed up at 7 a.m. to start the cleanup. Volunteers from Edward Jones financial advisors and students from the Community Youth Development STAR Leadership Program. 

A total of six beaches across Sarasota County including Lido Key participated in the event with an estimated 150 volunteers picking up trash from the holiday weekend. 

Crisp wasn’t surprised at the amount of trash littered along the sand. In its third year, the Liberty Litter Cleanup averages 2 tons of trash from all of the beaches.

Items ranging from plastic bottles to articles of clothing, rugs, beach chairs and even an american flag were found among the heaps of trash left on the beach. Crisp counted six tent structures that were left behind by beachgoers. 

“Unfortunately, stuff does break,” Crisp said. “I don’t know why they leave it out here.”