Trash collection gets an artsy touch on Cocoa Beach
ABOVE IMAGE: Local realtor Bobby Freeman started Creative Cans in the Sand. Artists paint Cocoa Beach’s blue barrel trashcans to help them stand out. Each can has a beach theme and a message about respecting the beach.
COCOA BEACH — Trash is a mounting problem in Cocoa Beach.
More garbage cans have been placed on the sand, but surprisingly, a lot of the trash still ends up on the beach.
That’s where Creative Cans in the Sand comes in to help.
Artists are painting blue barrel trashcans to make them stand out better.
A lot of paints and primers were tested over the past year to see what could hold out in the salty and sandy conditions.
Each can has a different beach theme and a message about respecting the beach.
Local realtor Bobby Freeman and his wife formed Creative Cans in the Sand after they saw the problem first hand.
“Sometimes we show property and we walk down the beach and these clients of ours, they’re thinking about moving here and they see a dirty beach, it doesn’t fit our lifestyle,” Freeman said.
The project will start with 10 cans at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach.
Students at Cocoa Beach Junior/Senior High School have been working on a can for more than a month.
“It’s just important to keep the beaches clean for the people and the animals,” said eighth-grader Mercedes Sheldone.
Freeman says he needs more artists and donations to help paint trash cans for the beach.
To help, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/creativecansinthesand?fref=ts