Beach Baskets have become the brand-new best friend for anyone visiting Florida’s beaches. You can find these free baskets at both public and private beach access points across Florida, encouraging beachgoers to pick up debris while they visit the beach.
Our Beach Basket program has shown to be a cost-effective tool for engaging both residents and area visitors as stewards of the environment. Check out our interactive map of basket locations.
On the first Wednesday of every month from October through May, our “trashiest” volunteers meet at 7:30 a.m. for a sunrise beachfront cleanup starting at Sexton Plaza in Vero Beach, Florida. Everyone is invited to join us as we keep debris out of our local waterways, marine habitats, and off our sandy beaches.
Volunteer with us for a community-driven cleanup event scheduled once every few months at a coastal park in Indian River County, Florida. Approximately 100 pounds of debris is removed during every quarterly Coastal Cleanup event. Cleanup dates and locations can be found on our Event Calendar.
Can’t make it to any of our scheduled cleanups? Or, would you like to have a private cleanup event with your service group or business as a team-building experience? To request a private cleanup event, please email info@coastal-connections.org.
Watch this short video to learn more about a simple way you can be a part of the success story of sea turtles.
Since revitalizing the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program for Indian River County in 2024, Fishing Line Recycling has become a major program under our VGZ sustainability initiative. Our colorful collection tubes can be found at beach accesses, jetties, boat ramps, and piers along both the ocean and the Indian River Lagoon.
We encourage anglers to recycle their monofilament line and fishing tackle in these tubes so it can be properly disposed of, effectively removing it from our environment and protecting our local wildlife, such as sea turtles and manatees, from becoming entangled. Since 2024, 578.5 miles of monofilament have been diverted from our environment, recycled, and now served a secondary purpose. Check out our interactive tube location map below.
As an extension of the statewide WRAP (Wrap Recycling Action Program) initiative led by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), CCinc provides a unique recycling service for local businesses at no cost to divert single-use soft plastic film waste and further Indian River County’s recycling goals.
WRAP film includes clean, dry, and stretchy plastics commonly used in packaging, such as plastic grocery and retail bags, shrink wrap, pallet wrap, bread and produce bags, bubble wrap, case overwrap (like water bottle and paper towel packaging), and dry cleaning bags.
These materials are often difficult to recycle through standard curbside programs, which is why Coastal Connections provides businesses with both educational resources and a complimentary recycling removal service to ensure proper collection and processing of this material that is commonly transformed into outdoor decking, furniture and playground equipment by the company Trex®.
By diverting these plastics from landfills and waterways, CCinc’s WRAP Recycling Program helps reduce pollution and protect marine life, including sea turtles that often mistake plastic for food. With over 50 business partners and growing, WRAP Recycling continues to make a lasting impact on our coastal environment. To join the program email info@coastal-connecions.org.
