2013 Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, Canada’s Largest Direct-action

Every year, tens of thousands of Canadians take action against aquatic debris by participating in the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited. Jointly led by the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF, this initiative focuses on educating and empowering people to make a difference through community cleanup events. Join us Sept. 21-29, 2013.
 
The staggering figures around the litter collected during last year’s Shoreline Cleanup, and the past 20 years, not only reflects the effective work of this program to date, but also the dire need that still exists for even more participants to join this year’s cleanup efforts. Until we effectively eradicate the need for our campaign to exist, there is still much work to do. For example:
•         During last year’s cleanup, more than 57,000 Canadians cleaned over 3,100 kilometers of shoreline (the approximate distance between Vancouver, B.C. and Thunder Bay, O.N., or 75.5 marathons)
•         Last year, more than 136,000 kilograms of litter (the approximate weight of 30 large school buses) was picked up on our shorelines
•         During our 20-year history, approximately 1.2 million kilograms of shoreline litter – the approximate weight of 259 school buses – has been collected
•         More statistics and information on Shoreline Cleanup, and full media kit, can be found on our website here
 
Registration for this fall’s cleanup is easy; participants can sign up simply by visiting ShorelineCleanup.ca.
Weight of litter removed- 136,036 kg
Distance of shoreline cleaned- 3,102 km

Top 5 Litter Items

1. Cigarettes/Cigarette Filters      416,955

2. Food Wrappers                      98,835

3. Plastic Bags                       69,790

4. Caps and Lids                      69,725

5. Plastic Beverage Bottles           38,202

Trash bags filled                      12,895

Recycling bags filled                   3,639