Shoreline Sculptures Made of Litter Encourage Canadians to Join the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Vancouver and Toronto residents were greeted today by aquatic animal sculptures made of garbage along the shoreline. The sculptures were created to raise awareness of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited, taking place September 18 to 26.

The unique sculptures are on display at English Bay in Vancouver and Ashbridge’s Bay in Toronto today only from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.

“We want to show that shoreline litter can have far-reaching effects by altering the sensitive balance of ecosystems,” said Jill Dwyer, Vancouver Aquarium program manager, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. “Left in the environment, litter has long-term impacts on our wildlife including entanglement and ingestion. We want to arrest people’s attention with these large life-like animal sculptures made from garbage commonly found in our waterways. Today’s events are designed to engage people’s emotions about the impact litter has within our waterways.”

The large, life-like sculptures – made of litter commonly found on Canadian shorelines – represent aquatic life enjoying their natural ecosystems, lake shores and ocean beaches. In Vancouver, three seals can be found playing on the beach at English Bay; while in Toronto, a school of 60 fish can be seen jumping through the water of Ashbridge’s Bay.

“Lakes, rivers and oceans are the lifeblood of Canada, and the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup gives Canadians a chance to keep them healthy,” said Christina Topp, vice-president of communications and marketing at WWF-Canada. “We hope Canadians will join us for a fun day that makes a difference – register today, come out for the cleanup and help build a cleaner community.”

With nearly 1,000 sites registered to date, people can visit shorelinecleanup.ca to either join an existing cleanup event or create their own along any unclaimed shoreline in their community.

“Through the reduction of plastic shopping bag use, Canadians have made a great impact on our environment. Initiatives like the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup offer a meaningful way for Canadians to get involved and make a positive impact on the environment,” says Bob Chant, vice-president, corporate affairs, Loblaw Companies Limited. “We are proud that the proceeds from our plastic bag reduction program is helping make a difference in Canadian communities.”

Businesses, community groups, school groups and individuals are all encouraged to register now for the 2010 cleanup. Come on Canada! Join us in making a difference September 18 to 26. Sign-up at shorelinecleanup.ca. Registration for this year’s cleanup closes on September 10, 2010.

As a note, the installations from today are made from 100% eco-friendly and reusable materials.

About the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

The Great Canadian Shoreline cleanup is a grassroots direct action conservation program started by the Vancouver Aquarium. The program inspires Canadians to become environmental citizens by bringing communities together to achieve real measurable impacts on the environment. The 2010 annual Great Canadian Shoreline cleanup takes place September 18-26. Register at www.shorelinecleanup.ca. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is the largest cleanup in Canada and one of the largest cleanups in the world contributing to the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Since inception of the program, nearly one million kilograms of shoreline litter has been removed from our fragile ecosystem.

About the Vancouver Aquarium

The Vancouver Aquarium is a global leader in connecting people to our natural world, and a self- supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, conservation practices, education, research, and direct action. Learn more at www.vanaqua.org.

About WWF-Canada

WWF-Canada is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with more than 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Learn more at www.wwf.ca or www.facebook.com/wwfcanada.

About Loblaw Companies Limited

Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada’s largest food distributor and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ over 138,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian customers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada’s strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President’s Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh Style® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to customers President’s Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty program. For more information, please visit www.loblaw.com.