To much fanfare last spring the City of Miami launched an effort – dubbed “Leave No Trace” – to reduce litter within the 11 city-owned, publicly accessible islands that dot Biscayne Bay.
Under the new policy, the islands’ trash receptables were removed, requiring visitors to cart away anything they bring in. “As citizens we want to make sure we take care of one of our most precious assets,” Mayor Francis Suarez implored boaters during a sun-drenched boat cruise through the islands with other city officials in May.
But sloppy picnickers and overflowing garbage cans are simply the low-hanging fruit of pollution control within our bay islands, say local environmental advocates, especially on Coconut Grove’s string of five public islands that sit barely a stone’s throw from Dinner Key and the adjacent shoreline.
