Beach cleanup organization aims for policy reform

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The lower Millstone River area was tended to by Surfrider Foundation Mid Island members on April 18 where 320 kilograms of materials were recovered. (Image Credit: Surfrider Foundation Mid Island)

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Beach cleanup organization aims for policy reform

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Their next beach clean happens on Saturday, Aug. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pipers Lagoon Park, marking the second time the well-used park has been attended to by Surfrider volunteers.

Items like buckets, gloves, and garbage-grabbing devices are issued to volunteers.

Volunteer numbers for their cleanups have ranged from just a few people to as many as 30, with growing numbers of people learning about the Surfrider movement, Gilchrist said.

Their hope is to expand to more rural areas of the region, as well as build on a productive underwater cleanup debut staged on May 31 where an alarming number of improperly disposed of items were removed.

“We had a very successful underwater clean-up at French Creek Marina, that’s something we’d like to do more with the local dive communities is get underwater and take out stuff that’s a little more heavy.”

On top of cleaning up foreshore areas, Gilchrist said a critical focus of their local chapter is policy changes.

The Nanaimo resident pointed to critical work by their Surfrider chapter serving the Island’s west coast, which successfully advocated for the ban of single-use water bottle sales in Tofino.

Gilchrist wants the same bylaw adopted in Nanaimo.

Ladysmith’s Transfer Beach Park resulted in 61 kilograms of improperly disposed of materials collected on May 9. (Image Credit: Surfrider Foundation Mid Island)

He said cigarette butts, Ziploc bags, beverage containers and miscellaneous items like broken children’s toys are commonplace at beaches their volunteers have tended to regionally.

“Things I find is mostly from people out enjoying the beach and maybe mistakenly leaving a few things behind.”

People can register for Surfrider cleanup events on site or in advance.

More information on Surfrider Mid Island is available here.

Surfrider Mid Island is part of a registered non-profit charity which distributes tax receipts when monetary donations are made.

The federal government began implementing an aggressive ban on a variety of single-use plastic products in phases, beginning late in 2022.

The ban covers checkout retail bags, plastic cutlery, several types of foodservice containers, six-pack ring holders, and the sale of most single-use plastic straws.

Cigarette Butts lead the list of materials improperly discarded during cleanups. (Image Credit: Surfrider Foundation Mid Island)

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