On a windy spring morning, four Vancouver NatureKids families braved the weather to join the Surfrider Foundation and Vancouver Maritime Museum to clean up Hadden Beach Park and surrounding areas.
Surfrider volunteers Johnny and Jen welcomed us and gave us the clean-up details. They also had a fun bingo that we could follow to win some prizes as well as hidden figurines and a big prize for whoever found the most candy wrappers and the most cigarette butts.
Under the Surfrider volunteer’s directions, we grabbed our tools (a picker, gloves and a bucket/bag) and went to the beach and park to try and find the most garbage. We were surprised by the things found on a seemingly “clean beach.”
Some of the interesting findings were:
• Bike wheel (found by one of our families)
• Vehicle tire
• Big fishing net (found by one of our families)
• Plywood
• Couch cushion
• Foam
After an hour of cleaning up, we sorted our findings into recyclable and non-recyclable types. Together with all the volunteers who showed up that morning (80+), we picked up 61 kg (134 lbs) of trash, yes! That’s right!
Here are some of the stats shared by Surfrider:
1250 cigarette butts
145 beverage containers
3.5 kg of fishing gear diverted
After the beach clean-up, the City of Vancouver picks up the organized trash and then, directs it to the zero-waste station or landfill as necessary. In the case of our clean-up on the weekend, bottles and cans were the highest-value recyclables we collected. Many of the other items like the cushion, foam-filled tires, and broken strand board were/are unfortunately not recyclable.
Check out these Surfrider campaigns to help keep our oceans trash-free. The https://surfrider.ca/foamfreewaters campaign works to target marine foam debris, and the Water Friendly Business program in conjunction with BC Green Business works with businesses to reduce water use and the use of plastics in their operations. Finally, congratulations to both our families who won prizes including the big prize: a turtle plush.
Written by Vancouver Club Leaders Carmen Castro, Deborah Simpson
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