PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Two people with the group called Plastics Symptoms have been traveling along the coast of Florida to raise awareness on the dangers and amount of plastics on the state’s shorelines.
Founder Bryan Galvin and Heather Bolint have traveled more than 1,200 miles down Florida’s coastline during the past four months, Panama City CBS affiliate WECP reported.
Galvin and Bolint said it’s a problem that extends beyond the state.
"It's not only the plastics that we're using here and consuming here it's the plastics that are washing up globally. We're finding a lot of stuff from the Caribbean islands, from Haiti, from the Dominican [Republic]. We're also finding stuff from Central and South America," Galvin told WECP.
The two say any plastic found in the water can be harmful to humans and marine life.
The group made a similar trek in 2017 down Florida's east coast., but ramped up the miles this year, collecting almost 2,500 pounds of trash along the way.
Galvin recommended not using single-use plastics, using wax paper instead of a Ziploc bag and wrapping sandwiches in paper instead of a plastic bag.
WECP reports Galvin and Bolint camp in state parks, stay with friends or use a small camper during their journey.
Related: Canada to ban single-use plastics
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