The sight of discarded masks and sanitary wipes along roadsides inspired two Richmond residents to launch an initiative to clean up Canada’s coastline.
“COVID inspired the idea because when we would go for runs, so much of the litter we were seeing were masks, sanitizing wipes, sanitizer bottles, stuff like that,” said Ally Baaske, one of the founders of Kilometres for the Coast (KFTC), and a student at the University of British Columbia.
The not-for-profit organization is seeking at least 800 runners and environmentalists, across the country, to complete a 10-km plogging – jogging, or walking, while picking up litter – fundraiser in support of Plastic Oceans Foundation Canada.
Baaske said she and co-founder Matias McDonald have noticed more litter this year, another reason why they decided to launch the initiative now.
Earlier this year, the City of Richmond issued a bulletin asking residents to properly dispose of their used personal protective equipment (PPE). Residents have also noticed trash strewn on the riverbank after having a fire in a city park.
That more people are staying close to home this summer could also be a contributing factor to the amount of litter seen outside, McDonald added.
Baaske and McDonald – who studies at the Wilson School of Design at Kwantlen Polytechnic University – completed their own 10-km plog last weekend, along Spanish Banks and Northwest Marine Drive in Vancouver.
“That’s where we saw the most amount of masks that we’ve seen,” said McDonald.
“I think we collected 25 to 30 masks alone, just disposable, single-use masks, in our hour-and-a-half 10-km run, along with sanitizing wipes probably every 20 or 30 steps.”
McDonald added that the PPE was littered in the ditch along the roadside, where “no one’s really going to see” it; he and Baaske ended up jumping down into the ditch to clean it up.
Baaske said the two collected six bags of litter over the course of their run.
“I was actually shocked,” she said. “If someone even just collected half that, it’s still so significant.”
The pandemic also shaped the structure of the initiative, said Baaske, explaining that if there wasn’t a pandemic, the duo likely would have organized an in-person event, such as a race.
So far, about 25 people have registered for KFTC, said McDonald, which launched Aug. 10. Anyone in Canada can join.
Baaske explained that they set their goal of 800 people cleaning up 10 km each, in honour of Andy Sward, a Canadian runner who normally runs across the country picking up litter.
Once people register, they’ll have to sign up as a team member for the initiative’s GoFundMe page to help raise money – all of the proceeds will go to Plastic Oceans Canada.
Specifically, said Baaske, the proceeds will go towards a the organization’s project which uses plastics to create fuel to power vehicles to sail around the coast to clean it up and collect more plastics -- which also supports a circular economy.
The deadline to complete a KFTC plog is Sept. 19, International Coastal Cleanup Day.
Anyone interested in registering can do so on KFTC’s website.
