JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a neighborhood on Jacksonville’s Northside, a group of residents decided they weren’t going to wait for someone else to solve a growing problem.
Instead, neighbors in the Oceanway community started a grassroots cleanup effort that is bringing people together while tackling litter across the area.
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The group, called Collect and Connect: Keep Oceanway Beautiful, formed after residents noticed trash piling up in parts of the neighborhood.
“We noticed a need in the community,” Oceanway resident Susan Shinego said. “There was a ton of trash everywhere, and we thought, you know, we’re going to buckle down and get something done about it.”
What started as an idea quickly grew into a Facebook group where neighbors coordinate cleanups and share information about problem areas.
The group now has nearly 300 members, with about 20 regular volunteers who go out around Oceanway picking up litter.
Volunteers say their efforts go beyond simply collecting trash. In some cases, they also report problem areas to city officials.
Oceanway resident Ruth Nelson-Peeples said the group recently helped flag a property filled with debris and potentially dangerous items near where children walk.
“We found some pretty unsavory things down on lots just down the road,” Nelson-Peeples said. “We got Alfaro from the Blight program involved. He came out and had that lot cleared because we were finding things that you don’t want to find in an area where you have children walking by and stuff like that. So we had that whole area cleaned for us.”
The group’s impact has already been recognized citywide.
During the city’s Jax Litter League contest, volunteers collected about 230 bags of trash in 60 days, winning the challenge.
Since then, members say they’ve kept the momentum going — collecting between 100 and 150 bags of trash monthly.
Oceanway resident Risa Grant said volunteers often find more than just small pieces of litter.
“It’s more than just picking up, like, little bits of trash on the ground,” Grant explained. “You’re picking up little tires, the people have just started, whole chairs, it’s a variety of things, and I like people to see that we’re picking this up ourselves so that maybe they’ll think twice about just throwing it out. There are humans volunteering, their time and energy to help make their community clean.”
Grant hopes the visibility of the cleanups will encourage others to think twice before littering.
Shinego said the group’s ultimate goal is to build pride and ownership within the community.
“It’s great to say the city should be doing that,” Shinego said. “But when the city doesn’t have the resources or the money, it’s great for community members to step up. We want people to have pride in where they live.”
The group continues to invite more neighbors to join their efforts, saying that keeping Oceanway clean takes the entire community working together.