Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

In 1994, employees and volunteers at the Vancouver Aquarium decided to clean up a beach in Stanley Park to protect the city’s shorelines. From that first cleanup, the program expanded across British Columbia and by 1997, 400 volunteers were participating in the Great BC Beach Cleanup at 20 sites.

The program became a national conservation initiative in 2002 when we partnered with WWF Canada and cleanups started appearing in every province and territory as the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. By 2003, more than 20,000 volunteers were taking part every year. Public support grew as Canadians became more aware of the harmful effects of shoreline litter on ecosystems, wildlife and people.

In 2017, the Vancouver Aquarium expanded to become Ocean Wise, a global conservation organization focused on protecting and restoring our world's ocean and in 2020 Ocean Wise sold the aquarium. Now, one of several conservation programs of Ocean Wise, the Shoreline Cleanup has grown into one of the largest direct action conservation programs in Canada...and has expanded into the United States. In 2020 Ocean Wise hosted its first Shoreline Cleanup in California, paving the way for future international growth.

In addition to cleaning our shorelines and connecting people with nature the Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanups collect powerful data that helps address waste at its source. By joining us in your community you can make a difference close to home and around the globe.

Some quick statistics on the Shoreline Cleanup program for the last few years:

This program allows people from all regions and all walks of life to make a positive difference to their environment. Since 1994, more than 1,000,000 volunteers have registered to clean up 44,262 kilometres of shoreline. Together, they have removed over 2,000,000 kilograms of litter from Canada's shorelines. Participants are encouraged to register to clean up a specific site in advance, or volunteers can join a cleanup that's already been registered.

Participants can choose from a past list of shoreline sites or they can add a new shoreline to the database. Eligible shorelines are areas where land meets water, which include but are not limited to oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and wetlands.

Data results over the years have indicated that the majority of litter removed from shorelines in Canada originates from land and land-based activities. In 2011, of the nearly 963,000 items removed from shorelines, approximately 50.6% were identified as originating from shoreline and recreational activities, while another 40.7% originated from smoking-related activities.

Shoreline litter can become aquatic litter and marine debris. Marine debris is a major pollution problem affecting every waterway.[2]

A cleanup of any shoreline will reveal some unexpected discoveries. Over the years, participants have hauled out stolen cars, motorcycles, and hotel safes, as well as innumerable bikes, mattresses, couches and computer equipment. Some items suggest people have a romantic affiliation with the shoreline, and some items suggest that the romance is over (burned engagement ring boxes, engagement rings, torn-up letters, etc.).

All across the country, Canadians have found some unusual items along their shorelines. Some of the more unusual items include a hair curler, Celine Dion CDs, a rickshaw, messages in bottles, a rice cooker, a love letter, a whoopee cushion, false teeth, a disco ball, wedding veils, a wedding gown, wedding invitations and a groom's jacket, barbecues, toilets, patio furniture, auto parts, an Elvis suit, a canoe made out of duct tape and a kitchen sink.

While a variety of strange items are found every year, the more common items collected from shorelines continue to be found in abundance annually. Every year, cigarette butts top the list of finds in Canada, and around the world. In 2009 alone, this conservation program removed 367,010 cigarette butts from shorelines across Canada. The majority of shoreline litter originates from two sources: shoreline and recreational activities and smoking-related activities.

The 2011 Dirty Dozen

• Earth Day
• National Cleanup Day
• Ocean Conservancy
• Vancouver Aquarium
• World Cleanup Day
• WWF-Canada

• Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup home page
• Clean Up Australia
• California Coastal Cleanup
• International Coastal Cleanup Archived 2012-01-25 at the Wayback Machine