River and coastal cleanup targets trash

Looking out along the Courtney Campbell Causeway, the water is like glass, completely still. Birds search the sand, looking for food along the shoreline.

The water is so clear, you can see down to the bottom -- but sometimes what you see can be pretty disgusting. There are submerged beer bottles, plus debris covered in sand.

Joel Leon says it is typically a great place to come fish. He usually comes out two to three times a week, looking for trout, redfish or snook.

But as he makes his way down the rocks, he has to get past garbage.

"You find a lot of beer bottles, you find the boxes they come in. Whatever trays they bring, aluminum, what they bring to barbeque. And then they turn around and leave it right here," Leon said.

All you have to do is walk along the Courtney Campbell Causeway and peer into the rocks to see a mess: styrofoam, soda cans, plastic bags and beer bottles are strewn all over.

But this Saturday, FOX 13 is hoping volunteers will come out to help clean it all up. FOX 13 CareForce is teaming up with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful for the 25th Annual Hillsborough River and Coastal Cleanup.

Our anchors and reporters will work along with volunteers, fanning out along the Causeway, plus along 22nd Street Causeway Bridge and other parts of the Bay Area.

Russ Pratt jogs along the Courtney Campbell Causeway every day. He says he won't stop his jogs, but it's disheartening to see the trash.

"I don't think people do it maliciously, I just don't think, they're thinking when they do it. Or they think the city is going to come up the next day, and take care of it. Someone else is going to do it. But that's generally not the case," Pratt said.

But we found trash wedged into rocks, and many bottles submerged so deep, they had to have been there for weeks if not months.

If you'd like to get involved in the cleanup, go to www.fox13careforce.com for more information on signing up.