Dear Editor,
We were excited to see the story about the Big Beach Cleanup of Baynes Sound made your front page.
It was terrific to see attention focused on the positive actions taken to tackle garbage and plastic debris in our local waters: thank you!
Our Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards teamed up with Department of Fisheries and Oceans and BC Shellfish Growers Association, so for the first time, all Baynes Sound’s and Lambert Channel’s shores were cleaned up.
We wanted to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those who helped our 13th annual cleanup be so successful: first, our amazing community volunteers who make it happen every year, next, the Ocean Legacy team with their demonstration machine which turns plastic into diesel fuel and who took tons of plastic debris to be recycled, World Wildlife Fund and West Coast Environmental Law for ongoing support, Lush Cosmetics for funding, the UVic students for their help loading, the many shellfish industry companies for picking up tons of gear to be reused, and to staff members of DFO and BCSGA who made such a significant difference this year.
The estimated 5 tons of debris collected, or 60-70 cubic metres which you reported, was only from Denman’s shores: the total for all Baynes Sound must have been much greater.
Most importantly, the debris we collected around Denman, which primarily comes from the shellfish industry, was reused by growers or recycled – only a small portion went to the landfill.
We look forward to continued co-operation with DFO and BCSGA, and smaller totals, as greater awareness and control prevent debris from entering our local waters.
Barb Mills and Dorrie Woodward
Co-chairs, ADIMS