ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With more people visiting Tampa Bay's beaches, it also means more trash gets left behind.

It’s why one local real estate group is taking matters into their own hands and hosted its fifth annual beach cleanup.

What You Need To Know

  • Glover Group Real Estate hosted its annual beach cleanup at Gandy Beach on Saturday

  •  1 million marine animals are killed due to plastic debris each year, according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy

  • The cleanup started five years ago to help create a space more people can enjoy

Most Bay area residents head to the beach to listen to the waves and enjoy the sun.

But today it’s a different story for Ulla Glover and her family.

She’s getting her hands dirty cleaning up Gandy Beach.

“I care about the planet and I want to also show the next generation right here behind me that it’s important to take care of Earth,” Ulla said.

Ulla, along with several residents in the area, are doing their part to keep trash off beaches.

This beach cleanup started five years ago by the Glover Group, a real estate company in St. Pete. It started with just 10 people, and it’s now grown to more than 30 people participating.

Ulla says it’s an effort near and dear to her heart because she’s been taking care of her planet since she was a young girl in Sweden.

"We even recycled our tea bags, and we had a compost in our backyard and we lived in the city,” she said.

Now she’s passing knowledge along to her children, who are also taking part in Saturday’s cleanup.

Emma Glover said she wants to see beaches as a safe place.

“We want to be able to play and have fun on our beaches without having to worry that we’re going to get a glass of shard in our foot,” said Emma.

But the trash isn’t just harmful for those who visit beaches, it’s also harmful to the animals who live in the water.

The Sea Turtle Conservancy reports over 1 million marine animals are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean.

Jonathan Glover says in taking part in this cleanup, he can educate more kids about the good things that come from our beaches.

“That brings in tourists to give our government money to do better things for us, and wouldn’t you want to go to the beach and have a clean environment?” he said.

Picking up one piece of trash at a time, Ulla is creating a place her community can continue to enjoy free of harmful debris.

The Glover Group is also working with city leaders to continue their efforts to keep the beach clean. Recently, the city has purchased trash cans to be placed around Gandy Beach to help deter trash being dumped there.