JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla -- Possibly the worst part of any celebration is the cleanup that ensues after the party is over. And this year, Jacksonville's beaches are bracing for a massive mess.
This year's Fourth of July celebration is going off without a bang. There is no fireworks show happening over the Atlantic Ocean. That means beachgoers will be taking matters into their own hands.
"I'm going to the store and I'm probably going to purchase a couple hundred dollars [worth] and making quite a mess myself!" said Craig Martin.
He says he'll try his best to clean up after his family, but not everyone will. So bright and early Thursday morning, volunteers will hit the sand with one massive mission.
"You can't just leave a mess and let it get in the water and mess up the environment," Martin said.
Folks with The Sea Turtle Patrol will be there helping too, because after all, this is a person's paradise but it's home to the animals.
"I think it can be very dangerous," said Susan Ranalli. "In fact my daughter is a veterinarian so she would agree with me that we need to take care of our land and our water absolutely we need to take care of the animals."
The city is still looking for more volunteers to bring Jacksonville Beach back to it's full potential. The clean-up effort stats at 7:00 a.m. Volunteers can sign up in the morning on the ocean at Atlantic Boulevard, Beach Boulevard, 16th Avenue South or the Seawalk Pavilion.
