More than two hundred volunteers travelled to the McNabs Island in Halifax Harbour on Sunday for the 28th annual beach cleanup – the longest running and largest cleanup in the Maritimes, according to organizers.
They celebrated the end of Oceans Week and Environment Week by scouring the island for ocean debris “collecting approximately 350 bags of garbage and recyclables and over 50 lobster traps,” the Friends of McNabs Island Society said in a news release. “In total, volunteers have collected 13,900 bags of garbage and recyclables from the beaches of this provincial park and national historic site since 1991.”
There were plenty of items that were picked up that don’t belong on a beach, such as rope, motor oil containers, hundreds of lobster bands and tags, and more than 50 lobster traps were hauled off the beaches.
Some of the more interesting items discovered this year included a gold post for someone’s expensive dental work, parts for a coffee percolator dating to the 1940s, the bottom of a bottle from the 1800s, and a 30-year-old sun catcher.
Most of the trash collected was plastic, from sheeting to containers.
The Friends of McNabs Island Society is a volunteer-driven registered charity dedicated to preserving and protecting McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park and Fort McNab National Historic Site.
