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During your last visit to the beach, did you find more
cigarette butts than sea shells? Are you concerned about the
amount of litter along our shorelines? Well, spending just a few
hours of your time picking up garbage at a shoreline or waterway
site in your community can make a big difference. And if you get
a group together of family, friends or colleagues at work, you
can do even more. You can help to protect the health of Canada's
shorelines by participating in the 16th annual TD Great Canadian
Shoreline Cleanup this September.
"Many of us are committed to recycling and are careful to
properly discard our trash, but our shorelines still suffer from
the negligent actions of others," says Mary Desjardins,
Executive Director, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.
"When you look at the volume of litter in some areas, it can
seem daunting, but the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup has
consistently shown that when we spend as little as one hour to
clean up our communities it has a huge impact."
In 2008, more than 63,000 Canadians registered for the national
cleanup.
Participants removed over 130,000 kilograms of garbage from
1,531 sites, spanning a collective distance of 2,152 kilometres.
During last year's cleanup, some unusual items were recovered
including building materials, crutches, shoes and socks. The
most common shoreline litter recovered during last year's
cleanup included:
- Cigarette butts and filters
- Food wrappers/containers
- Caps, lids
- Beverage cans
- Paper plates, plastic cups, forks, knives and spoons
If you want to be rid of these items in your city's
waterways, you can help by volunteering for the local shoreline
cleanup in your community.
The 2009 TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup begins on
International Coastal Cleanup Day, September 19, and runs until
September 27, 2009.
For more information and to register, visit
www.tdgcsc.ca .
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