Coastal Anti-Littering Initiatives
To ensure everyone is able to fully appreciate Volusia County's beaches and coastal parks, visitors are reminded to pick up and properly dispose of all trash. The Coastal division has implemented multiple initiatives to aid in these efforts.
Fill-A-Bag stations
The Fill A Bag station, founded in Key Biscayne, provides upcycled buckets for beachgoers to collect trash and debris during their visit. The Volusia County Coastal divisions works with local groups and organizations to sponsor a station along the coast. Currently, Fill A Bag stations are located at:
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Kathy Drive, Ormond-by-the-Sea
- Granada Boulevard, Ormond Beach, sponsored by Ormond Beach Rentals
- Cardinal Drive, Ormond Beach, sponsored by Ormond Beach Rentals
- Sun Splash Park, Daytona Beach, sponsored by the Daytona Tortugas
- Silver Beach ramp, Daytona Beach, sponsored by TTEC
- Dunlawton Avenue, Sunny Dunny Beach Rentals
- North Turn ramp, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by DeeDee Beach Clean-Up Crew
- Beach Street Ramp, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by Conservation Recreation
- Lighthouse Point Park, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by Conservation Recreation
- Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park, New Smyrna Beach, sponsored by Beach Relief
- Old Carriage Road, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honor of DeeDee Bunnell.
- Winterhaven Park, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honor of DeeDee Bunnell
- Ocean View Avenue, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honor of DeeDee Bunnell
- Glenview Avenue, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honor of DeeDee Bunnell
- Calumet Avenue, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honore of DeeDee Bunnell
- Inlet Harbor Road, Ponce Inlet, sponsored by the Carr Family in Honor of DeeDee Bunnell
- Seminole Avenue Ramp. Ormond Beach, sponsored by Stacey and Patty Cooper
- Williams Avenue Ramp, Daytona Beach, sponsored by Stacey and Patty Cooper
Mermaid's Lost Treasure boxes
In an effort to reduce waste and repurpose beach toys that might otherwise be thrown away, the Coastal division is erecting "Mermaid's Lost Treasure" boxes along the coast. Beachgoers who do not wish to bring beach toys home with them, or those who find a misplaced toy in the sand, to place them in the box for others to enjoy. Mermaids Lost Treasure boxes can be found at Sun Splash Park in Daytona Beach, Toronita Avenue Beach Park in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, Flagler Avenue in New Smyrna Beach, and Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park in New Smyrna Beach, Edwin W. Peck Sr. Park in Daytona Beach Shores, Tom Renick Park in Ormond-by-the-Sea, and Winterhaven Park in Ponce Inlet.
Proper disposal of trash and recyclables
Trash receptacles are placed in regular intervals along the coastline, as well as at every county maintained point of access to the beach, including public dune walkovers and vehicular beach access ramps. Compostable trash bags are available upon request at all tool booths and from beach concessionaires.
Beach Cleanups
Volusia County Environmental Management offers several programs focused on cleaning up our beaches and waterways, including Adopt a Beach, the Monofilament Recycling Program and the International Coastal and Halifax/Indian River Cleanups.
If you're organizing your own beach cleanup, please let Beach Safety know by completing the Beach Activity Notification form and emailing to Lynea Lewis at ldlewis@volusia.org.
Tips for a successful beach cleanup:
- Remind all participants to keep organic material on the beach (seaweed, plants, seeds, etc.) and to clean carefully around sand dunes and avoid walking on dune vegetation. These organic items provide food for beach wildlife and help build the beach by trapping windblown sand.
- Remember that cleaning up small pieces of trash is just as important as the big stuff! Cigarette butts and small pieces of plastic are hazards, too.
- Recycle all plastic and aluminum items found. Have participants separate these items during your clean-up and then dispose of recyclables in the blue recycle bins on the beach. All other trash, preferably, should not be thrown away in the yellow beach trash cans along the beach, as we don’t want them to overflow. Please use park dumpsters or home disposal whenever possible.
- To reduce waste, use buckets, old pillowcases or reuse small plastic shopping bags for trash found and give only one glove per volunteer to use during the clean-up. Large garbage bags are often not filled completely and may be cumbersome on the beach to clean with.
- If you have any beach issues, call Beach Safety at 386-239-6414 and press 0. This includes if you find any dead, sick or injured sea turtles, birds, marine mammals or other animals on the beach. Never push a washed in (or stranded) animal back into the water.
- Let us know how your clean-up went in the week following your event. You can call 386-238-4716, e-mail Nicole Weiss @ nweiss@volusia.org or report online with the number of people who participated, the length of time and the approximate pounds of trash removed off the beach
