Operation TRAP’s (Trash Reduction for Aquatic Preserves) mission is to partner with local government and state Aquatic Preserve systems to intercept litter at the source and reduce the amount of marine debris entering Florida’s coastal waterways. Since July 2024, the team has installed over 40 interceptor devices in the City of Cedar Key and Pasco County to trap and prevent litter and reduce the amount of single-use plastic materials that enter our waterways through drainage systems and boat access points.
Lots of trash data, what to do with it?
For the past two years, the Operation TRAP team has been conducting monthly cleanouts and collecting data on all the installed interceptor devices. During these cleanouts, the devices are emptied, the trash is organized and analyzed and then compiled on debris types and amounts collected by each device. As of June of 2026, the team has conducted over 750 cleanouts; collecting over 18,000 pieces of litter from storm drain traps, ~39 lbs. of fishing related debris from monofilament tubes, and over 3,700 lbs. of trash from the boom catchment devices.
Sharing is caring!
To share our data with the public, partners, and all who are interested, the team has developed an interactive dashboard (Figure 1) that allows users to view the types and amounts of trash being captured at each of our sites. The homepage of the dashboard shows the total amounts of debris captured by our interceptor devices as well as line graphs comparing similar devices. The tabs on the left-hand side take you to interactive maps that show the locations and types of all the interceptor devices installed in Pasco County and the City of Cedar Key. Clicking on a site allows the user to see graphs of the types and amounts of trash that have been captured at a specific location (Figure 2a and 2b). The dashboard also allows the user to change the date range of the data they are viewing.
Updating and expanding!
As we continue to collect monthly data the dashboard will be updated. Operation TRAP will soon be expanding into other counties around the state, as devices are installed, we will continue to update the dashboard. So please check back often for upgrades and new information as the project continues.
If you are interested in any of the data that is displayed or would like to become a volunteer, please contact Monica Wilson at monicawilson447@ufl.edu to discuss data sharing.
Operation TRAP is supported by NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and in partnership with FDEP’s Aquatic Preserves, Florida Sea Grant, Pasco County, Keep Pasco Beautiful, and the City of Cedar Key.
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