New ocean plastics recycling centre on Vancouver Island just 1 of 4 in B.C.
A new recycling centre designed to collect wayward plastics from the ocean has opened on northern Vancouver Island.
The new "ocean plastic depot" is located at the 7 Mile Landfill and Recycling Centre off Highway 19 between Port McNeill and Port Alice, B.C.
The depot accepts a range of plastic items from both community members and industrial cleanup efforts, including lost or abandoned fishing gear, ropes, nets, Styrofoam, hard plastic and some types of buoys.
The ocean plastic depot in Cumberland, B.C., collects materials from shoreline cleanup efforts and legacy equipment from commercial fishing and the aquaculture industry. (Comox Valley Regional District) The plastic collection site is the fourth of its kind in B.C., and the third one to open on Vancouver Island, with other locations in Ucluelet and Cumberland opening last year.
Plans are also in the works to open two more recycling centres in Prince Rupert and the Lower Sunshine Coast.
The new depot on northern Vancouver Island is opening in partnership with the non-profit Ocean Legacy Foundation (OLF) and the Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW)
The OLF says that plastic pollution often washes up in rural areas of B.C.'s coast, and that these depots make it easier for cleanup crews to drop off the debris they collect without having to travel vast distances to recycle them.
The plastic that is collected at each depot is later sent to the Ocean Legacy processing centre at Steveston Harbour, B.C., where it undergoes further sorting and cleaning before it is recycled.
RDMW chair Andrew Hory says the regional district is excited to add ocean plastics to its list of recyclable items.
"Removing plastic wastes from our oceans and shorelines, then collecting them locally, directly benefits the environmental health of our community," he said.
Funding for the new recycling depot comes from the national Ghost Gear Fund and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Anyone looking to use the new plastic collection site is asked to register at the Ocean Plastic Depot website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.