Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
Rank Item Number of items collected
1 Cigarette / Cigarette filter 351,238
2 Food Wrappers & Containers 110,018
3 Bags ( plastic ) 71,200
4 Caps/Lids 65,220
5 Beverage bottles ( plastic ) 2 litres or less 39,308
6 Beverage cans 36,440
7 Cups , Plates , Forks , Knives , Spoons 34,947
8 Straws , stirrers 31,770
9 Bags ( Paper ) 28,987
10 Beverage bottles ( glass ) 26,857
11 Tobacco Packaging/Wrappers 19,082
12 Cigar Tips 18,102
Items found along the shoreline
A cleanup of any shoreline will reveal some unexpected discoveries . Over the years , participants have hauled out stolen cars , motorcycles , and hotel safes , as well as innumerable bikes , mattresses , couches and computer equipment . Some items suggest people have a romantic affiliation with the shoreline , and some items suggest that the romance is over ( burned engagement ring boxes , engagement rings , torn-up letters , etc . ) . All across the country , Canadians have found some unusual items along their shorelines . Some of the more unusual items include a hair curler , Celine Dion CDs , a rickshaw , messages in bottles , a rice cooker , a love letter , a whoopee cushion , false teeth , a disco ball , wedding veils , a wedding gown , wedding invitations and a groom 's jacket , barbecues , toilets , patio furniture , auto parts , an Elvis suit , a canoe made out of duct tape and a kitchen sink . The 2011 Dirty Dozen
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a conservation initiative of the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF-Canada. The Shoreline Cleanup
encourages people across Canada to remove shoreline litter to help create healthy waters for everyone, including the wildlife and communities that depend on them. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is one of the largest direction action conservation programs in Canada and is a contributor to the International Coastal Cleanup. The Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup is the world's largest volunteer effort for ocean health. It engages people to remove trash and debris from the world's beaches and waterways, identify the sources of debris, and change the behaviors that cause marine debris in the first place. Volunteers and sponsors collect and catalogue litter which is then collected for analysis on sources of garbage that enter the ocean. For example, in 2011, 1,665 shoreline cleanup sites were claimed and a collective length of were cleaned, bringing in roughly 144 metric tonnes of garbage.