Big Cleanup Clearwater brings out record number of volunteers

Clearwater volunteer cleanup effort underway

A weeklong volunteer initiative to clean up Clearwater after recent hurricanes began on Friday. FOX 13’s Kailey Tracy spoke with organizers.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Close to 250 volunteers came out to Clearwater Beach on Friday morning to kick off the Big Cleanup Clearwater.

The cleanup is a partnership between the city of Clearwater, Keep Pinellas Beautiful, AMPLIFY Clearwater, and Visit St. Pete Clearwater.

The weeklong initiative is in its fourth year, but organizers say it’s even more important after the two hurricanes.

Close to 250 volunteers came out to Clearwater Beach on Friday morning to kick off the Big Cleanup Clearwater.

"Keep Pinellas Beautiful has been actively working for many years to make not just our city but our county more beautiful," Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector said. "Now, with two major hurricanes in the span of two weeks, Mother Nature has combined with humans to make our area less beautiful."

"This year, we need a bigger cleanup than ever," Rector said. "We are gradually getting better and better and better and getting back to that same beautiful Clearwater Beach, Pinellas County, and Tampa Bay that many have come here for years to visit and remember and enjoy."

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The Big Cleanup Clearwater is a citywide effort aimed at restoring the beauty of Clearwater’s streets, beaches and waterways.

Close to 250 volunteers came out to Clearwater Beach on Friday morning to kick off the Big Cleanup Clearwater.

The effort's focus is to remove litter that threatens the environment and marine life, especially after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"I've been doing this job for a long time, not necessarily director, but working in the environmental field and working in the bringing people together, and I’ve never seen a community come together like our communities have since the past hurricanes," Pat DePlasco, Executive Director of Keep Pinellas Beautiful, said. "Just like with litter, every little piece of litter picked up counts; well every little bit of kindness counts."

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"Never has it been more important than it is today," Brian Lowack, President and CEO of Visit St. Pete Clearwater, said about the cleanup. "I think we saw how resilient our community is this past month in the wake of the storms that came through."

The number of volunteers who met Friday morning near the Bay Esplanade beach access was a record for the event, organizers said.

Close to 250 volunteers came out to Clearwater Beach on Friday morning to kick off the Big Cleanup Clearwater.

Volunteers will also be entered to win awards all week. The awards include the youngest volunteer, the oldest volunteer, an award for posting pictures of volunteering on social media picked by Mayor Rector, and the Power Picker award. The Power Picker award is given to the volunteer who collected the most litter by weight, divided by the total volunteers at each site.

Since the cleanup started in 2021, volunteers have collected more than 16,000 pounds of litter. Cleanup sites will be across the city over the next week.

Volunteers can find location and time details on Keep Pinellas Beautiful by clicking here.

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