Two teenagers who caused an uproar after getting caught on video tossing garbage into the ocean face fines of up to $50,000 and five years of prison after turning themselves in at the police station on May 3, according to the New York Post.
The boys, aged 16 and 15, were boating with a group off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida, when footage showed them each grabbing a trash can and dumping its contents into the water. One of the boys even appeared to celebrate the act by immediately raising the empty bin above his head.
South Florida boat action media company Wavy Boats (@wavy_boats) posted the clip on Instagram on April 29 and noted that the boat had just left Boca Bash, an annual spring break party at Lake Boca.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced that the juveniles received charges of third-degree felony pollution.
"The illegal dumping of trash in our marine environment is a serious crime, and we worked closely with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office to determine appropriate charges," FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said, per WPBF.
"Callous disregard for Florida's environment will not be tolerated. This is a teaching moment for all those involved — Florida's natural resources are precious, and we should all do our part to protect them."
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The family of one of the boys issued an apology, stating: "As a family, we agree with FWC Commissioner Rodney Barreto that this is a teaching moment for the young kids involved and they should certainly participate in community service and ocean conservation efforts to deepen their understanding of the importance of our community and environment."
Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated event, as spring breakers recently trashed the beaches in Fort Lauderdale. That behavior is part of the reason why there is around 220 million tons of plastic in our marine environments.
Innovative solutions like the Seabin and the Cleaning Drone help catch part of the roughly 12 million tons of debris that enter our oceans annually, but it will take more proactive measures, like limiting our purchase of single-use products that will help prevent trash from ending up there. Pollution from plastic production also exacerbates extreme weather conditions.
Meanwhile, the comment section from Wavy Boats' post did not hold back.
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"They should lose their boating license — this is unacceptable. We know animals are killed from ingesting trash," one user wrote.
"This is actually incredible. How is this even a possible thought in a human's brain?" said another.
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