‘It’s disgusting:’ Over 1,000 pounds of trash picked up in Jacksonville Beach ‘5th of July’ cleanup

The Fourth of July has come and gone, but not without leaving a mess on Jacksonville’s beaches. One hundred and fifteen volunteers picked up more than 1,000 pounds of trash on Jacksonville Beach Friday morning after the 4th of July festivities.

“It’s disgusting. And I’ve had lived in a place where we had fireworks for a couple years out seven, eight o’clock in the morning, picking up all the litter,” volunteer Mark Pecci said at the cleanup.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

It’s part of an annual tradition with JEA and Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol to clean the beaches after Independence Day. Pecci and his daughter Victoria Pecci found everything from fireworks, clothes, and even a prescription medication bottle full of marijuana and a hospital bracelet while doing cleanup.

“That is part of what makes Jacksonville, Jacksonville: the beach. So if you are either making it dirty or harming the animals, the beach just won’t be the same,” Victoria Pecci said.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks ]

It’s an important cause aimed at not just cleaning the beach for Jacksonville’s residents and beachgoers, but for the animals and wildlife that call Northeast Florida’s coastlines home.

“With Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol, that’s real important for nesting females and emerging hatchlings,” Kevin Brown with Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol said.

“We’re not the only ones on this earth, especially so close to the ocean like there’s no way trash isn’t getting into the ocean from this,” Victoria Pecci said. “So like teaching people to clean up after themselves in general, but that other animals and wildlife need to live here too.”

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter ]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.