Panama City Beach cleanup underway after large 4th of July celebration

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Panama City Beach is a little worse for the wear from July Fourth celebrations. Some say there was more litter and fireworks debris on the shore than there was last year.

The sandy shores of Panama City Beach are recovering from big Fourth of July celebrations that left behind a trail of firework debris and scattered trash.

Pineapple Willies CEO Marissa Traxler said the beach seemed a bit worse than normal.

“The beach did seem a little dirtier this morning, but it usually is, unfortunately, with all the fireworks. A lot of times you know, people would just clean up after themselves. We actually are one of the first ones,” Traxler said.

Since 2018, Pineapple Willies has hosted summer beach clean-ups every Saturday with the goal of making our shore spotless.

The company gives $10 for every person who volunteers, to a number of different local charities.
But the effort is more than just aesthetics, it’s also crucial for local marine life.

“If it does end up in the water, that’s when we call it marine debris, and animals, sea turtles, fish, sharks, marine mammals, they can ingest or eat it, get entangled in it. You know what it is. So, cleaning up the beach just helps to prevent it from going into the water. And then it’s also safer for people. You know, when we’re walking on the beaches after these celebrations,” Gulf World Marine Coordinator Lauren Albrittain said.

Albrittain says the solution is simple.

“We definitely understand people wanting to celebrate the 4th of July, especially on these beautiful beaches that we have here. The biggest thing is just cleaning up after ourselves, right? So, the firework debris can be a lot of small pieces or even some big ones left behind for the boxes. And the best thing is for people to just safely, you know, douse everything and clean it up,” Albrittain said.

Besides cleaning up after yourself, Traxler said you are welcome to join one of Pineapple Willie’s weekly beach clean-ups.

“If everyone would just take their own trash and throw it away, that would be fantastic. And then, of course, show up each Saturday and help us clean the beach to help these nonprofits,” Albrittain added.

Pineapple Willies is hosting a beach clean-up on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. This week’s charity recipient is Lavish Ministries.

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