Dozens of volunteers cleaned several Vancouver beaches Sunday morning after they were left full of cans, bottles and garbage overnight.
The beaches in Vancouver’s Kitsilano neighborhood and English Bay, which normally stay clean even during the high season, were left with unusual amounts of garbage on the hottest weekend of the summer so far.
Locals who volunteered to clean up the mess, said they were upset by all the garbage.
“I’m very disappointed to see it sincerely,” Kassandra Sison said as she picked up trash in English Bay. “We will probably get at least half a dozen [garbage bags] if not a dozen if we keep going “.
Volunteers pick up trash in Vancouver’s English Bay on June 26, 2022. (Denis Dossman / CBC News)
Sison was on the beach with the Coastal Water Protectors, a group of BC Métis Federation volunteers, who planned to do a beach cleanup on Sunday.
‘A little found’
He said the group called the Vancouver Parks and Recreation Board to offer to collaborate with him for the cleanup, but was told it was not necessary.
“They said ‘oh no, we have a crew out there every day, you can come and try it, but you won’t find anything’ and we’ve found quite a few.”
CBC News has contacted the Park Board to ask about its cleaning equipment, but has not received an immediate response.
Empty plastic cups and liquor boxes soil Kitsilano beach sand on June 26, 2022. (Sent to CBC News)
Abandoned barbecue
Across the beach from English Bay, Kitsilano Beach and the surrounding parks were in a similar state, according to local residents.
Photos sent to CBC News showed unused trash cans surrounded by trash and even a full-size grill left in the grass surrounded by trash.
An empty trash can is displayed on Kitsilano Beach in Vancouver on June 26, 2022. (Sent to CBC News)
Among the rubbish were cans, plastic cups, bottles and empty beer cans.
In May, the Park Board launched a pilot project that allowed the consumption of alcoholic beverages in more than 20 Vancouver parks by the summer of 2022, including Kitsilano Beach Park and Hadden Park, near the beach. However, it is not allowed to drink in the sand or near water.
According to the Park Board website, staff are working with the Vancouver Police Department and the regional health authority “to ensure that each site is safe, properly managed and well maintained.”
After the summer, park staff will present recommendations to the board on how to proceed with the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the parks based on what they learned from the pilot.