Found on our shorelines: umbrellas, tractor tires, fishing gear, cigarette butts and more!

WWF

This past weekend, thousands of volunteers across Canada took to their local beaches, lakes, rivers, streams and oceans for the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited. WWF and Vancouver Aquarium hosted six celebration events across the country in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and St. John’s, all contributing to the International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest cleanup. We saw hundreds of volunteers, staff members, and our partners who all came out for a morning of fun in the sun.
We are in the process of adding up all the hundreds of bags of garbage collected across the country over the weekend but here’s a quick snapshot.

Vancouver: Iona Beach Regional Park

  • 262 people attended including B.C. Minister of the Environment, Mary Polak
  • 623 kg of litter found
  • Items found: plastic dinosaur, plastic piggy bank, construction material
Plastic piggy bank found by volunteer at Iona Beach Regional Park in Vancouver.
Plastic piggy bank found by volunteer at Iona Beach Regional Park in Vancouver. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Vancouver Aquarium

Toronto: Woodbine Beach Park

  • 160 people attended
  • 38 bags of garbage and 44 bags of recycling collected
  • 2.75 kg of cigarette butts found
  • Items found: beach umbrella, puzzle pieces, toy shovel
David Miller, President & CEO of WWF-Canada, and the Panda at Woodbine Beach Park in Toronto.
David Miller, President & CEO of WWF-Canada, and the Panda at Woodbine Beach Park in Toronto. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Vancouver Aquarium

Ottawa: Parliament Hill Shoreline, Ottawa River

  • 55 people attended
  • 20 bags of garbage collected
  • Items found: fishing rod, tackle box, Styrofoam
The Panda, Ottawa Redblacks’ Big Joe and volunteers at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The Panda, Ottawa Redblacks’ Big Joe and volunteers at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Vancouver Aquarium

Montreal: Verdun Auditorium

  • 85 people attended
  • 31 bags of garbage and 9 bags of recycling collected
  • Items found: rubber shoe, tires, glass bottles
A great turn out at the Montreal cleanup by Verdun Auditorium
A great turn out at the Montreal cleanup by Verdun Auditorium. © Benoit Desjardins

Halifax: Point Pleasant Park

  • 195 people attended
  • 136 kg of garbage and 20 kg of recycling collected
  • Items found: fishing gear, cigarette butts, bottle caps, tractor tire, fencing
Tractor tire found by volunteers at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax.
Tractor tire found by volunteers at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Vancouver Aquarium

St. John’s: St. Philip’s Shoreline  

  • 28 people attended
  • 10 bags of garbage filled
  • 28 kg of garbage total
  • Items found: office chair leg, straws, cigar tips

Local Spiderman joins volunteers in cleaning up St Philip’s Shoreline in St. John’s.
Local Spiderman joins volunteers in cleaning up St Philip’s Shoreline in St. John’s. © Stephanie Nicholl / WWF-Canada.

Other cleanups organized by local site coordinators also took place all around Canada this weekend and will continue to happen through the end of October. So far, we have over 50,869 people and 1,732 sites registered for the fall and spring cleanups. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup runs until October 31st, so there’s plenty of time left to organize your own!

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited is a joint conservation initiative led by the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF. For more information, please visit www.ShorelineCleanup.ca.