https://www.local10.com/news/local/2023/06/28/fort-lauderdale-saves-nearly-350k-after-repurposing-seaweed-into-planting-soil/ 84o wplg logo Sign In [ ] Search * + News + Watch Live + Traffic + Local 10 Investigates + This Week In South Florida + Dirty Dining + Local 10 Digi Shorts + National + Politics + Cuba + Venezuela + Florida Files + Don't Trash Our Treasure + Leave It To Layron + Health + Weird News * + Weather + Alerts + Hurricane + Florida Pins + Hollywood Beach Cam + Miami Downtown Cam + Key West Cam + Miami Beach Cam + Fort Lauderdale Cam + Pembroke Park Cam * + Sports + Dolphins + Heat + Marlins + Panthers + Inter Miami CF + Miami Hurricanes * + Features + SoFlo Shows + SoFlo Health + SoFlo Taste + SoFlo Recipes + SoFlo Home Project + UHealth + Pets + Food + Fresh + Celebrating Pride + Cancer Awareness + Community + Tech + Travel + Livin' Large + Money * + Entertainment + TV Listings + Calendar + Concerts + Contests + H&I TV + MeTV * + Espanol * + Newsletters * + Contact Us + Meet the Team + Jobs at WPLG + Advertise with us * News * Weather * Sports * Features * Entertainment * Espanol * Newsletters * Contact Us Local10.com * News * Weather * Sports * Features * Entertainment * Espanol * Newsletters * Contact Us * BREAKING NEWS 15 minutes ago Ex-Parkland school resource deputy cleared on all charges Former Parkland school resource Deputy Scot Peterson was found not guilty Thursday on all 11 counts against him related to the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. BREAKING NEWS Ex-Parkland school resource deputy cleared on all charges HIDE Local News --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanela Sabovic, Reporter Ryan Mackey, Digital Journalist Published: June 28, 2023, 5:17 PM Updated: June 28, 2023, 6:59 PM Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Health, Environment --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sign up for our Newsletters [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------- LATEST NEWS --------------------------------------------------------------------- 35 minutes ago Family 'thankful' after suspect charged 2 years after 6-year-old girl fatally shot in NW Miami-Dade 22 minutes ago Video captures thief stealing thousands of dollars' worth of wine, champagne from grocery store in Miami 3 hours ago Local 10, Salvation Army of Broward County invites you to 'krush' homelessness 4 hours ago South Florida trio charged in Trump media firm insider trading case, accused of making $22M Local News Fort Lauderdale saves nearly $350K after repurposing seaweed into planting soil Sanela Sabovic, Reporter Ryan Mackey, Digital Journalist Published: June 28, 2023, 5:17 PMUpdated: June 28, 2023, 6:59 PM Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Health, Environment FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Large patches of what will become stinky shoreline seaweed, stretching from the west coast of Africa to just off the southern coast of Cuba, has made its way to South Florida and local leaders are getting ready. Sargassum seaweed plagues many beaches around the world and it is increasingly being seen as a resource to improve the soil. In the ocean, the seaweed serves as a floating nursery for a variety of marine species. The problems happen when it comes on shore. If not cleaned up properly, it can shade out corals and sea grass and create near-shore dead zones as it decays. As a result of this, Fort Lauderdale crews are out daily, scooping up the fresh sargassum from the beaches. They take truckloads of it to a park where the city repurposes it and by the time it decomposes, it has very little smell and becomes fertile soil. "This started out at a 90% increase for the first couple months of the year," said Fort Lauderdale Park Operation Superintendent Mark Almy. Almy told Local 10 News the seaweed washing in has tapered off at the moment, but there's still a collection of it once a day, every day. Where does it go? For the past 15 years, Fort Lauderdale has found a way to turn this smelly trash into treasure. A Local 10 News crew was at Synder Park Wednesday where Fort Lauderdale crews were seen after composting the seaweed into fresh soil. Almy said that his team had a renovation project at Sistrunk Boulevard where they used seaweed soil to cover up damaged areas. According to officials, composting has been saving Fort Lauderdale about $350,000 per year. "When I started with the beach project, we had to pay up to $500 a load to get rid of one load of seaweed and it was costing us $3,000 to $4,000 a day in dump fees. Now, we don't pay anything, and we get the benefit of return with black dirt," Almy said. The soil also benefits residents. That dirt is available for free pick up by the public at Snyder Park in Fort Lauderdale, located at 3299 SW 4th Ave. Fort Lauderdale is the only city in the entire state that holds registration for composting seaweed. Copyright 2023 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. --------------------------------------------------------------------- About the Authors: Sanela Sabovic Sanela Sabovic joined Local 10 News in September 2012 as an assignment editor and associate producer. In August 2015, she became a full-time reporter and fill-in traffic reporter. Sanela holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with a concentration in radio, television and film from DePaul University. email facebook twitter Ryan Mackey Ryan Mackey is our newest digital journalist at WPLG. 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