Last weekend's Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup saw 1,200 pieces of plastic picked up off Cobourg's shoreline

Photo courtesy of the Town of Cobourg.

By: Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News

Cobourg

The Town of Cobourg proudly joined five other Ontario communities Sept. 28 for the first-ever Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup, its volunteers collecting more than 1,200 piece of plastic and assorted other litter from the town's shoreline.

Hosted by the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and funded by the Government of Ontario, the event took place on World Rivers Day, highlighting the importance of health waterways. The announcement noted that Cobourg was one of the original members of the Cities Initiative.

“This shoreline is the heart of our community,” Mayor Lucas Cleveland said.

“We enjoy the beauty of this place every day – but with that enjoyment comes the responsibility to protect it.”

The announcement thanked a number of organizations that helped make the event a success, including Blue Dot Northumberland, the Ecology Garden, Northumberland Land trust, A Greener Future, Willow Beach Field Naturalists, Great Lakes Plastic Cleanup, Community Power Northumberland, EV Society Northumberland Chapter, Seniors for Climate Action Now, Stalwood Homes and the Green Party of Ontario, as well as event sponsor New Amherst Homes.

It also gave some statistics on the Great Lakes, home to one-third of Canada's population, where an estimated 22-million lb. Of plastic enter the waters each year, More than 80% of the litter collected along the Great Lakes is plastic, and Canadians living in the Great Lakes Basin are estimated to throw away more than 2.5-million tons of plastic waste each year.