JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Jacksonville Beach is a lot cleaner thanks to dozens of volunteers who came out Saturday to clean up the beach.
The cleanup was a way to observe International Surfing Day.
The city of Jacksonville and Keep Jacksonville Beautiful partnered with the Surfrider Foundation to clean up the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier. Buckets of trash were collected.
"I think it's great. We all have a great beach here to utilize. And it's good to see people participating to help keep it clean for everybody else as well," Alex Piquer said.
The cleanup wasn't just for surfers and beachgoers; it was for the wildlife, too.
"Anything that gets dropped here ends up in the ocean. That can affect wildlife. It can kill wildlife. It can affect their mating habits," Todd Walton, organizer said.
Containers were filled with cigarette butts.
"A lot of people that smoke erroneously fell that throwing the cigarette butt down that it's going to degrade right away and unfortunately it doesn't," John Shellhorn, with Keep Jacksonville Beautiful.
Cigarette butt containers are going to be added to the area. Organizers hope others learned about the importance of throwing away trash to keep beaches beautiful.