Beach residents are preventing unnecessary pollution with a cleanup at Woodbine Beach tonight

Erin Horrocks-Pope Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Beach residents, Adrianna Couto and Dora Attard, have organized a beach cleanup for tonight, Wednesday, August 12 as an initiative to combat plastic pollution.

Litter left behind by people visiting Woodbine Beach and the surrounding areas has been a frustration to residents for years, and while Toronto's Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division does great work to keep the beaches and parks clean, unfortunately, city staff can't catch everything.

An overflowing bag of waste picked up during a 5-minute walk along the shore of Woodbine Beach on the morning of Wednesday, August 12.

Cuoto is the founder of Beaches Reduces and Attard is the founder of Plastic Free Beaches Toronto. Both of these profiles are community initiatives rooted in addressing the various environmental issues caused by waste; specifically single-use plastics.

The goal of Cuoto and Attard's shoreline cleanup this evening is to encourage awareness and further normalize habits of picking up waste and keeping communities clean.

"To be frank, we have a serious plastic pollution crisis on our hands," Cuoto explained. "Much of which ends up in our beautiful great lakes affecting wildlife, human health, and more!"

Marieta Belina visits Woodbine Beach many mornings to pick up garbage left behind by beach-goers. Belina brings her young grandson, Leon (off-camera), with the intention of modeling environmental awareness to him and others. Wednesday, August 12.

Both Attard and Cuoto recognize that the actions of people have an impact on the community and therefore the planet. They hope to continue community participation and education on the harms of single-use items and unnecessary waste.

Cuoto emphasizes that "if (people) work together to create new norms that work to protect the planet for us and future generations, we’ll all be better off."

Tonight's cleanup will begin at 6:30 p.m. and participants are asked to bring their own reusable gloves, wear a mask during check-in, and maintain distance due to the ongoing risks of Covid-19.

Litter left behind next to the eastern Woodbine Beach parking lot. Wednesday, August, 12.

Beaches-East York councilor, Brad Bradford will be attending the cleanup, and is thankful for community members, like Couto and Attard, who take the initiative and time to help with either spontaneous or organized cleanups with the goals of making our outdoor spaces "that little bit better".

"The way we take care of our shared spaces and natural environment says so much about who we are," Bradford told Beach Beat. "These small acts of conscience make all the difference in how we see other people and how we see our own responsibility to step up and support our community."

Additional details for tonight's cleanup are listed in the embedded post below.

For more information and resources to take steps toward more sustainable habits, check out the Collective Impact Journey.