Volunteers who spent last Saturday picking up couches, TVs, hypodermic needles and other junk along the Coquitlam River are asking people to properly dispose of their unwanted belongings and deal with construction waste to give nature a break.
A group of local fishing enthusiasts and other volunteers spent several hours hauling hundreds of items out of the woods around Pipeline Road in Coquitlam and from Lions Park to Gates Park in Port Coquitlam.
“We only got about a quarter or a half of what’s out there. Dumping is extremely prevalent along Pipeline Road, and in abandoned homeless camps,” said the cleanup organizer, Michael Thom, who is also a biologist, adding, “We put a good dent into it."
Still, it’s disheartening to see so much junk thrown into the bushes or dumped off the side of the road, including construction waste, he said, noting, “I knew what to look for, I’d seen it all before."
Saturday's event was part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which takes place across Canada every September.
Thom said the last time a big group tackled the area was about two years ago and, prior to that, Garry Elgear of the now-closed Riverside Fly and Tackle shop organized cleanups for a number of years.
Thom said he first joined Elgear on the cleanups and this year organized one with the help of Megan Rempel. A number of fishing enthusiasts, like himself, pitched in along with many other local residents.
One volunteer took charge of the sharps box and managed to collect 30 needles, mostly in areas under bridges.
Thom said the event ended with a barbecue and the distribution of prizes from local businesses Me-n-Ed's Pizza and Sea-Run Fly and Tackle as well as the Steelhead Society of BC, and Safeway and Save-On-Foods provided gift certificates for barbecue supplies.
Thom said he feels good that a lot of the waste has been cleaned up, but he hopes to get more bang for his buck, as well.
“We’re trying to bring awareness to the issue.”
Recently, Metro Vancouver launched its Put Waste in its Place campaign with a website that helps people figure out how to dispose of their unwanted items. More information about Metro Vancouver’s initiative is available at metrovancouver.org.
