Operation TRAP (Trash Reduction for Aquatic Preserves) has just completed its first year of the project. Within the last year, we have installed 3 Watergoats, 8 storm drain traps, and 6 monofilament tubes in Pasco County and 9 storm drain traps in Cedar Key.  

Installed Interceptor Devices

Watergoats are made from bouys that float on the top of the water, usually placed across creeks or streams, and collect floating debris. Once a month, the TRAP team and volunteers clean out the Watergoats and collect data on the types and amount of trash captured. We have conducted 12 monthly Watergoat cleanouts and have collected almost 780 pounds of trash and organic debris. Though we have retrieved some interesting items such as a plastic truck bed liner, bicycle wheels and a Squishmallow, the most collected item to date has been styrofoam pieces with a total of 337. This number only represents a small subset of the total amount of styrofoam that has been collected. Given the number of trash bags we collect, it is not possible to go through each bag and count each piece of trash. So, we simply pick 2-3 bags to go through and count the contents to get a representative of the types and amount of trash we are capturing.  

Storm drain traps are interceptor devices placed inside storm drains. As storm water flushes debris into the storm drains, the baskets capture the trash that is flushed inside. The traps are emptied out monthly and any litter/trash that has been collected is counted, weighed, and recorded. We have conducted a total of 49 cleanouts to date. Below is a list of the most found items.   

Just this month we installed 6 new monofilament (fishing line) recycling tubes near boat and fishing docks in Pasco County. These tubes are used to recycle monofilament/fishing line in hopes to reduce the environmental damage caused by discarded fishing line. Operation TRAP will empty the tubes once a month and collect data on the amount of fishing line being recycled.

A year summed up! 

All-in-all, the first year of TRAP has been very successful, we have: 

• collected a total of 783.86 lbs of trash from our Watergoats and 
• captured 2,096 pieces of large debris in our storm drain traps. 

Trash TRAPpers Wanted! 

None of these accomplishments would have been possible without our volunteers, they are extremely important to the work and success of TRAP. And there is still more work to be done and more trash to capture!  

Would you like to become a TRAP volunteer? Volunteers help clean out, organize, and analyze the amount of litter captured by our interceptor devices. We will also utilize clean up events to engage with the community and foster change through data driven education and outreach.  

Volunteer options include:  

• Adopt-a-Watergoat – Do you have a group that would like to conduct monthly clean ups? Your group can adopt one of our Watergoats in Pasco County. Contact us for more information.  

• Adopt-a-Tube – We need your help cleaning out and collecting data on the amount of fishing line being recycled. If you would like to help, please sign up here or email Monica Wilson at monicawilson447@ufl.edu. 

• Monthly emails – Sign up here to receive our monthly email that list all our volunteer opportunities for the month. 

• Calendar of events – See what events are coming up for the rest of 2024 here and sign up to help.  

All volunteers will be trained and supplied with the tools necessary to perform the clean ups. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email Monica Wilson at monicawilson447@ufl.edu.  

Operation TRAP is supported by NOAA’s Marine Debris Program with funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 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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