Andrew Otazo, has picked up exactly 13,640 pounds of trash from Florida mangroves and shores in Virginia Key, Key Biscayne, and Biscayne Bay.
Otazo, works in public policy and relations for an international agency, and has collaborated with groups to clean the mangroves.
Recently, he has gone out to pick up litter left behind by spring breaks and visitors, but nothing compares to the debris he uncovers after a major South Florida storm.
Trash accumulates on the ocean floor, and then big storm surges sweep it all onto the shore. “There’s a lack of civic accountability in Miami, where people take care of their city,” he says. “There’s also a lack of coordinated policies to mitigate it,”
To follow Otazo on his journey to clean the mangroves, follow him on Twitter or on Instagram.
Photos by Getty Images