Beach Baskets

Coastal Connections Inc.

Introduction

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (photo by: Joe Rimkus)

Community member using a beach basket

After teaming up with Indian River County and the City of Vero Beach to pilot this novel opportunity, Beach Baskets have become the brand-new best friend for anyone visiting the beach. You can find these free-to-use baskets available at public beach access points encouraging beachgoers to pick up debris while they visit the beach. These baskets have shown to be a cost-effective tool for engaging both residents and area visitors as stewards of the environment. QR codes are available to report clean-up impacts.


Locations

Beach Baskets are located throughout Indian River County, St. Lucie County, and are expanding into Brevard County and Florida State Parks in 2023. Below, you can find the locations of all the CCinc beach basket stations.


Request a Beach Basket


Marine Debris

Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or Great Lakes 1. 

Earth Day Annual Clean Up at Moores Park

Plastic straw found on beach

In 2021, over 5.5 million pounds and 9.7 million total items of marine debris were collected during International Coastal Cleanup Day 2 , an event hosted by Ocean Conservancy. Of that, over 33% were plastic items 2 ; over 80% of all marine debris is plastic, including macro- and micro-plastics 1 .

Balloons found on beach

The Central East Coast of Florida is home to 90% of loggerhead sea turtle nests in the state and Florida contains 90% of loggerhead nests in the US 3 . The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, which spans through both Brevard and Indian River Counties, is the highest density nesting area for loggerheads in the US 4 . Containing the southern part of the Refuge, Indian River County covers 22.4 miles of beach, which contains an average of 7,000 sea turtle nests over the last 10 years 3 . This stretch of beach also contains multiple public beaches.

Marine debris found in Sargassum near Riomar Golf Course

One of the largest threats to sea turtles are human actions, including pollution of plastics, fishing line, nets, and more. Hatchlings and adult sea turtles can become entangled in pollution on the beach and in the open ocean, and adult sea turtles can consume debris, choking on it and absorbing toxins that can accumulate on the plastic surface. Our Beach Basket program serves as a critical resource for protecting these important nesting beaches from marine debris and its effects on sea turtles. 


Plastic Alternatives

If you want to reduce your personal use of single-use materials, please be sure to checkout our 2023 Plastic Alternatives Guide.


Sponsors and Partners

References and Resources

1

U.S. Department of the Interior

2

Ocean Conservancy

3

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

4

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (photo by: Joe Rimkus)

Community member using a beach basket

Earth Day Annual Clean Up at Moores Park

Plastic straw found on beach

Balloons found on beach

Marine debris found in Sargassum near Riomar Golf Course