Mysterious plastic wash up along Gulf Beaches

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. – Large pieces of plastic are washing up along the Southwest Florida coast.

“The large ridges are maybe eight inches by eight inches that come up every two inches kinda like a dinosaurs back,” says Viola Burn, who volunteers as sea turtle patrol for the Coastal Wildlife Club.

Burns walks Englewood beach everyday, she says she has never seen anything like it.

“They’re heavy and when you see them they’re being washed up you want to get them out of the water pull as far as to the upper beach as you can so it doesn’t get washed back up,” says Burns.

Other members of the Coastal Wildlife Club has found them too. In the last month, about ten to twelve pieces were discovered from Manasota Key to Gasperilla Island.

“I could keep guessing for hours where this stuff is coming from,” syas Burns.

Wink News did some digging, Charlotte County Natural Resources says the plastic is coming from an oil rig hundred of miles away in the gulf.

Another beach goer, Tyana Pickens found a similar piece of plastic on Fort Myers Beach.

“We were kayaking the other day and i pulled out about 12 to 15 feet of the plastic from the mangrove,” says Pickens.

Pickens adds, the nearly 15 foot long piece of plastic was very heavy, just like the one burns found in Englewood.

“Not a whole lot i’m sure i’m going ot be able to do about it except for pull the pieces out as they come up ashore and just trying to keep my beaches clean,” says Pickens.