VANCOUVER AQUARIUM KICKS OFF 12th GREAT CANADIAN SHORELINE CLEANUP

Vancouver, BC: The Vancouver Aquarium kicked off the launch of the 2006 TD Canada Trust Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup yesterday, a conservation initiative that organizes thousands of volunteers across Canada to clean up their local beaches and shorelines.

This year’s cleanup runs from September 16 – 24, with over 900 cleanup sites across Canada and more than 40,000 volunteers.

Members of the RCMP ‘E’ Division Underwater Recovery Team and Eco-Marine Kayak Centre, who participated in early cleanups last week, were also on hand. The items they collected went on display at the Aquarium yesterday including a fire extinguisher, a tire, an adult video case, a shoe and an oar.

Fifty volunteers headed down to Coal Harbour to clean up the shoreline, where they removed over 2,000 cigarette butts, over 700 food wrappers and containers, and over 150 caps and lids. They also found clothing, toys, straws, razor blades, lip gloss, deodorant and diapers.

TD Canada Trust has been involved with the program since its beginning 12 years ago through their TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. Last year, the corporation became the title sponsor, with the Vancouver Aquarium continuing to operate the program nationally.

Partners for this program include World Wildlife Fund Canada, The Ocean Conservancy, Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Clean Nova Scotia. Other sponsors include Waste Management, Trillium Foundation, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, the Dow Chemical Company and Sanford Canada.

Data collected from every cleanup across the country is sent to the Vancouver Aquarium for tallying. Once tallied, all the information is forwarded to the International Coastal Cleanup for worldwide cleanup totals.

A list of ‘drop in’ cleanups can be found at www.vanaqua.org/cleanup.

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For further information, please contact:

Brenda Jones, Manager, Public Relations

publicrelations@vanaqua.org