Beachgoers left behind more than 13,000 pounds of trash at a Florida beach last weekend.
According to Florida Today, crews last Saturday and Sunday picked up over 13,000 pounds of garbage on Cocoa Beach, which is about an hour east of Orlando, as the state continues to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
The huge increase in trash, which for scale is equal to roughly the same weight as a full grown African bush elephant or an adult T-Rex, has prompted local officials to increase fines and enforcement.
In a Facebook post, the Cocoa Beach Police Department stated that they will be “focusing on litter violations in the days and weeks ahead in an effort to educate the public and mitigate this repulsive and disrespectful behavior.”
The department said violators of the newly minted litter law will now face a fine of $250.
“If I need to relocate 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,” said Cocoa Beach Police Chief Scott Rosenfeld said in a statement. “This will not be tolerated.”
Cocoa Beach wasn’t the only sandy spot in Florida that had a tough time reopening to the public. Last weekend, the City of Naples decided to reclose their beaches after large crowds were reported.
This story originally appeared in our sister paper Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
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