As a marine biologist, Lyne Morissette had had enough of this “doomsday” tone, which simply involved passively describing the impact of pollution on whales, turtles and the rest of the wildlife living in the St Lawrence River. So, around eight years ago, she co-founded an initiative with the modest aim of collecting 10 tonnes of rubbish along the banks of the river and the seaway. This year, Lyne Morissette and a coach full of scientists, divers and volunteers are spending 16 days travelling some 2,000 kilometres up and down the river, where they are joining forces with local volunteers and organisations to clean up the riverbanks as part of this expanded project, now known as ‘Mission 1,000 tonnes’. This campaign, known as “The St Lawrence Expedition”, includes stops in the Greater Montreal and Quebec City regions, as well as in more remote areas, notably Baie-Comeau and the Innu community of Pessamit, on the province’s North Shore. Collecting huge piles of rubbish brings a sense of both satisfaction and sadness, said Professor Morissette during a telephone interview. “The more we collect, the more serious the situation is, but at the same time, that’s all less rubbish in the natural environment, so it’s a mixed feeling,” she said during a telephone interview as she was preparing to take part in a clean-up operation in Magog, in the Eastern Townships. Lyne Morissette, who is also an associate professor in the ocean sciences group at the Université du Québec à Rimouski — the Institute of Marine Sciences — explains that each region has a slightly different ‘signature’ of litter. Volunteers always find cigarette ends, plastic takeaway trays and coffee cups, but sometimes they come across surprises too. On one occasion, for example, what appeared to be a firearm was fished out. “As it turned out, it was just a starting pistol for a rowing competition, but we had to call the police and all that,” said Professor Morissette, who added that protocols are in place during clean-up operations to ensure objects are handled safely. Lyne Morissette, the expedition’s scientific director, explains that the rubbish recovered from the rivers is catalogued to gain a better understanding of how the riverbanks are affected by pollution. “It varies greatly from one region to another,” she says. The scenes they encounter are not always encouraging, she said, and prove that Quebec is not immune to the environmental challenges facing the planet. “Climate change, rising sea temperatures, loss of biodiversity, plastic pollution… we can’t say that all this is (very) far away, that it’s happening somewhere else,” she said. However, she finds comfort in all the volunteers who devote their time to cleaning up the riverbanks. She added that it was also important to convey a message of hope and to encourage people to take action. “You might think that spending an hour picking up litter, or taking five minutes out of your walk to pick up a few bits of rubbish along the way, is just a small gesture, but all these small gestures add up,” she said. According to the Mission 1,000 tonnes website, the organisation has collected some 749 tonnes of rubbish over the years (Lyne Morissette estimates this figure to be slightly higher) and is getting closer to its target. Morissette said that the organisation she co-founded will continue its work, even once the 1,000-tonne target has been reached, although she does not plan to change the organisation’s name again, as was the case after the initial 10-tonne target was achieved. The clean-up operation, co-organised by another charity, Stratégies Saint-Laurent, will conclude on 21 August. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 9, 2026.
