Littering, particularly plastic pollution, remains a bigger Florida problem than most of us think. The recent viral video depicting a group of young boaters polluting the waters off Lake Boca during the annual Boca Bash event has brought the problem into clearer focus. Here are three reasons why Floridians should care about littering and its impact on Florida and the world:

1. Florida, according to a 2023 study by Florida International University, is the nation’s third-highest generator of plastic waste. The state produces more plastic waste than the current recycling system can process. Its 8% recycling rate has gone down, despite increasing initiatives to improve recycling.

2. Florida remains among 19 states that, according to 2023 data compiled by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, have placed restrictions on regulating plastic carryout bags.

3. Some 33 billion pounds of plastic enter oceans every year, according to Plastic Free Florida, an organization of volunteers taking action to curb plastic pollution in the state. That amount is roughly the equivalent of dumping two garbage trucks full of plastic into the oceans every minute. At that rate, the 2016 World Economic Forum report predicted, the world’s oceans could soon hold more plastic than fish.

An Ocala, Florida, private school principal has been arrested after allegedly attacking a student in a classroom for over an hour, according to authorities.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said 33-year-old Dontay “Donnie” Akeem Prophet, principal of the Destiny Leadership Academy, was arrested May 11, and charged with aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a child under the age of 13.

On May 10, a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a call at the school for a report of a physical disturbance between the principal and a student.

The sheriff’s office said the investigation involved reviewing surveillance footage from the classroom, which allegedly showed Prophet preventing a child — identified as a 13-year-old boy — from leaving a classroom.

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An arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 35 Orlando claims Prophet smacked the victim in the face and on the side of his head with a computer charger before picking him up and throwing him on the floor.

The deputy reported that surveillance footage began at 11:34 a.m., with the victim’s head on the table and Prophet approaching.

During the ordeal, Prophet was allegedly seen grabbing the boy then restraining the child on the ground while using a chokehold. He is also allegedly seen using a charging cable to hit the victim, causing him to fall and sustain injuries.

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Prophet is accused of twisting the child’s ankle, slapping the child in the face and subjecting the child to physical abuse.

By about 12:40 p.m., the boy was able to leave the classroom and his teacher reported the incident to the secretary at the school after hearing yelling from the classroom.

When the teacher looked inside, she reportedly saw the principal yelling at the boy, slamming him on the ground and preventing him from leaving.

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Dontay Prophet, former principal at the Destiny Leadership Academy in Ocala, Florida, was arrested after video showed him allegedly physically abusing a student. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)

When the responding deputy questioned Prophet, he said he was attempting to prevent harm to the child, though the sheriff’s office said the evidence told a different story.

Prophet was ultimately arrested and taken to the Marion County Jail, where he was held without bond.

The Destiny Leadership Academy did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FOX 35 reported that the school fired Prophet.

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Court records show Prophet was arrested in 2019 on molestation charges from a 2017 incident.

The charges were ultimately dropped for “interfering with child custody,” and Prophet was sentenced to 90 days in jail, along with probation.

PALM COAST, Fla. – A Florida man has landed himself in jail after he allegedly took a bite out of a slice of pizza from inside a RaceTrac and left without paying for it because he was “tired” after work and “didn’t have the money,” according to an arrest affidavit from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. 

Ronald Broaddus, 62, was arrested and charged with petit theft on Friday after the incident that unfolded at the gas station on SR-100 in Palm Coast, the affidavit said. 

A RaceTrac employee told deputies that a man, later identified as Broaddus, stole pizza and frozen yogurt and left the store without paying, according to the affidavit. The employee said he went outside to confront Broaddus, who initially said he did pay for the items even though two people inside the gas station said he didn’t. 

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“I told him, ‘I’m calling the police.’ He proceeded (as I’m on the phone with dispatch) to throw away the pizza box and ice cream. He came back to his bike (as I’m still on the phone with dispatch) and said, ‘You better watch your back because I’m going to kick your a***,” the employee said, according to the affidavit. “He then proceeded to step toward me with his bike in a hostile way. I stayed far enough back so he could not touch me. He then rode away.”

The employee said RaceTrac wished to pursue charges, and also trespass Broaddus from the location. 

The two slices of buffalo chicken pizza and a cup of frozen yogurt totaled $8.98 before tax. 

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Another deputy located Broaddus nearby and initiated a traffic stop. In a post-Miranda interview with deputies, Broaddus said he went into the gas station, picked up the frozen yogurt and pizza and walked outside to eat. The man said he was approached by an employee and told him that he didn’t have enough money to pay for the items, but would pay for it at a later time. 

“(Broaddus) then stated that he threw the pizza and ice cream away after the clerk threatened to call law enforcement,” the affidavit said. 

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He was placed under arrest for petit theft and was transported to the Flagler County Inmate Facility. Broaddus’ sister was contacted and she retrieved the bicycle after the arrest. 

Broaddus told deputies that even though he was trespassed from the gas station, he “will be returning” to “defacate on the property,” the affidavit said. 

Broaddus remains in custody on $1,000 bond.