MUSKEGON, Mich. — The Fourth of July is a busy holiday, especially on the beach. With fireworks, food and hundreds of people in the water and on the sand, a hefty amount of trash is usually left behind.
That’s why three local businesses decided to partner up for a beach cleanup Sunday at Pere Marquette Beach in Muskegon.
Aldea Coffee, Rake Beer Project and My Barefoot Wedding all teamed up to host a beach cleanup July 5th after a very busy day of celebrating on the Fourth.
The event took place from 5 to 7 p.m. and event organizers encouraged attendees to wear masks and maintain a social six-foot distance.
Event organizers said that the city usually uses a sweeping machine to clean the beach, but that small items like cigarette butts, bits of plastic and straws are often missed and left on the shore. They also said they’ve been finding single-use masks littered across the beach.
Brittany Goode, event organizer and Aldea Coffee team member, hopes the cleanup inspires others to bring their trash home with them at the end of a beach day.
"I know that's really hard because you have all your kids and you're just trying to pack up and get in the car, but we really need to leave it better than we found it,” Goode said.
"I remember one day last year we were doing a cleanup in Grand Haven and we were walking along the shoreline and I literally saw these kids building a sand castle right next to a pile of small plastic and I was like, ‘this is no way to grow up.’"
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