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
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.