(WHDH) — Florida has been reopening its beaches in recent weeks and crowds of people have been leaving behind thousands upon thousands of pounds of trash, officials said.
With coronavirus restrictions starting to ease, Floridians have been packing beaches and illegally discarding their trash, according to the Cocoa Beach Police Department.
“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,” the department wrote in a news release.
Crews picked up 13,000 pounds of trash at Cocoa Beach after it reopened last week, USA Today reported.
Volunteers told the news outlet that they picked up 297 bags of trash over the course of three days. When restrictions were in place, less than 10 bags of trash were collected on any given day.
Anyone who is caught littering will face a $250 fine and police are urging beachgoers to report those who violate the litter law.
“We are no longer asking our visitors to comply with our litter laws, we expect it, and there will be consequences for offenders,” Cocoa Beach Police Chief Scott Rosenfield said in the release.
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