An epic turnout made a positive impact Sunday at Surfrider Vancouver Island’s Esquimalt Lagoon beach cleanup.
A hundred and twenty-three volunteers picked up 555 lbs. of debris, including dozens of straws, several buckets of cans and bottles, and over 11,000 cigarette butts.
Cigarette butts are frequently the number one litter item found at the Surfrider Foundation’s beach cleanups and on beaches worldwide.
Each butt is highly toxic, non-biodegradable, and contaminates at least one cubic metre of ocean water with nicotine and other toxins.
For the next Surfrider Vancouver Island beach cleanup (and cigarette butt count!) head to Willows Beach on July 9th from 9-11 AM.
For more information on this and other upcoming cleanups in the Victoria area, follow Surfrider Vancouver Island on Facebook.
In the meantime, do us all a favour and keep your butts off the beach!