People leave 6,000kg of rubbish on beaches after lockdown measures ease

People have left 6,000kg of rubbish on Cocoa Beach in Florida after the lockdown measures imposed by the coronavirus pandemic were eased.

This comes less than a month after the city eased its lockdown measures, forcing officials to take action to stop the area's litter problem.

This is the reduction in pollution that took place during Italy's coronavirus lockdown:

Now, anyone who is caught dropping rubbish is subject to a $250 (£202) fine by Cocoa Beach Police.

A statement released by the force said: "As restrictions are becoming more relaxed during this pandemic, the City of Cocoa Beach is beginning to see an influx of day-trippers to our beaches, along with piles of unlawfully discarded trash in their wake. This will not be tolerated."

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The fine can only be issued if the police see someone dropping litter, but the police have urged people to report anyone who is guilty of the act.

Chief Scott Rosenfeld added: "Our community works very hard to be stewards of environmental sustainability.

"If I need to reallocate critical resources during our peak season to combat litterers, we are no longer asking our visitors to comply with our litter laws, we expect it, and there will be consequences for offenders."

Local volunteer group, Keep Brevard Beautiful, which removes litter from the beaches, said that they noticed a sharp increase in the levels of trash in the area.

Over a three day period, the group's members collected 297 bags of waste - 33 bags on Friday, 122 on Saturday, and 142 on Sunday.

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KBB deputy director Bryan Bobbitt said that the environmental impact of the littering can be devastating.

He said: "When we see something that can be a choking hazard to marine life, we make it a point to get that stuff as well.

"If we don't pick it up, it gets blown into the water. We've all seen the photo of the straw stuck in a sea turtle's nose or a 6-pack ring around a bird's neck.

Normally there is an uptick but what we've seen this past weekend is way above normal. It's equivalent to Fourth of July and Memorial Day weekend.

People need to understand if they leave trash on the ground a bird, fish or sea turtle could be killed by it. It's not just a blight issue it's an environmental issue all around."

He concluded: "We encourage everyone to come and enjoy the beaches but pick up after yourself."