Trash or Treat Halloween Cleanup

On Sunday, October 25, 2026, The International SeaKeepers Society hosted Trash or Treat, our third annual Halloween cleanup at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park with partners Miami Waterkeeper and Miami Community ResilientSea project. Halloween is a particularly wasteful holiday, between polyester costumes, single use decorations, and individually wrapped candy, so this cleanup tradition was started to allow the community to come together and celebrate with sustainability in mind. We were joined by 112 volunteers at the park who checked in and then gathered at the Dance Pavilion to learn about the organizations hosting the event and listen to a safety briefing. After a group photo, the volunteers grabbed buckets, gloves, bags and pickers and set out to collect debris from the park. This week’s king tides meant there was very little beach to walk on, which encouraged volunteers to visit often overlooked areas of the park like the picnic and camping areas, the dunes, and mangroves. After just an hour and a half, volunteers had collected 150 pounds of trash! With the exception of the tank of a toilet, most of the trash was lightweight, single-use items like glass and plastic bottles and aluminum cans. To celebrate the hard work of our volunteers and the upcoming holiday, volunteers participated in a pumpkin carving and painting activity with supplies provided by the park trust, as well as a costume contest, with three winners taking home prizes. Volunteers also indulged in a sweet treat at Kona Ice, a local shave ice food truck, who graciously offered to donate 20% of revenue during the event to the event organizers. We had a spooktacular time at this cleanup, and we can’t wait to keep the tradition going next year!