Every year, people across Florida flock to the coast to celebrate the Fourth of July with cookouts, surfing, games, and sandy afternoons by the water. Unfortunately, the holiday celebration often leaves behind a trail of trash: fireworks debris, food wrappers, single-use plastics, and forgotten beach gear pile up on our shorelines. That's why Surfrider chapters and volunteers show up the morning after the holiday to clean up the beaches we love.
On July 5, Surfrider chapters led over 50 cleanups nationwide. Known as the “Dirtiest Beach Day of the Year,” Surfrider's 2026 July 5th cleanups removed more than 16,000 pounds of trash and engaged over 1,800 volunteers nationwide. Leading up to the holiday, Surfrider shared easy tips for cleaner, more ocean-friendly celebrations – skip the balloons, bring reusable water bottles and containers, and always do a final check to make sure you clean up your spot before leaving the beach!
This year, four Florida chapters led July 5th cleanups, collecting 700 pounds of trash with 94 volunteers participating:
Deerfield Beach – The Broward Chapter got an early start at 6:30 am and cleaned 450 pounds of trash off of the beach!
Miami Beach – The Miami Chapter cleaned over 100 pounds of trash from the popular beach on the morning after the holiday.
Jacksonville Beach – The First Coast Chapter was out by the Jax Beach Pier Sunday morning and collected 78 pounds of trash left on the beach.
Satellite Beach – The Space Coast Chapter collected 62 pounds of trash. After the clean up, all were welcome to join for a surf day!
These cleanups have dual purposes, not only do they help make our beaches more enjoyable at the moment, they also contribute to important data collection for long-term impact. Volunteers log what they find — material types, quantities, sizes — and that data feeds directly into Surfrider's national database to better inform our advocacy work. Chapters use cleanup findings to push for local ordinances on single-use plastics, support state coastal protection and water quality legislation, and back federal plastic pollution reduction bills.
The July 5th Cleanups are just one part of a busy Plastic Free July in Florida:
-
The Orlando Chapter, in partnership with Keep Orlando Beautiful, launched a Strawless Summer Pledge to encourage plastic reduction from restaurants and community members in Orlando.
-
The Keys Chapter, in partnership with Monroe County, Islamorada, and other local partners, is kicking off a 2026 Skip the Stuff Pledge that encourages local businesses and community members to refuse unnecessary single-use plastics like utensils, straws, condiment packets, and bags.
-
On July 21, join the Suncoast Chapter at a screening of The Story of Plastic hosted by ReThink Energy Florida and the Sustany Foundation in St. Pete!
You can keep the Plastic Free July celebrations going statewide by joining a local beach cleanup or enjoying a meal at a Surfrider Ocean Friendly Restaurant!
As Florida Policy Manager, Katie works at the intersections of policy, law, and public engagement. She attended law school at Florida State University College of Law and completed the Environmental Law program. She received her undergraduate degree in anthropology from Princeton University.