More than 4 kilometres of rope found in P.E.I. shoreline cleanup

Volunteers on theGreat Canadian Shoreline Cleanupcollected roughly 4.4 kilometres of rope from P.E.I. shorelines last year, according to figuresfromOcean Wise and theWorld Wildlife Fund Canada.

The two groups sponsored the cleanup, which covered sites across the country. The most common debris found onshorelines both on P.E.I. and across the country was bits of plastic and foam.

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Rope came in at number two on the Island, althoughnationallyrope was the twelfthmost common item cleaned up only just making the cleanup's "Dirty Dozen" list.

The 12 most commonly found items on Canadianshorelinesare:

• Tiny pieces ofplastic and foam
• Cigarette butts
• Plastic bottles
• Food wrappers
• Bottle caps
• Paper materials
• Plastic bags
• Miscellaneous packaging
• Straws
• Foam materials
• Beverage cans
• Rope

Rachel Schoeler, manager of the cleanup, saidrope is more common on salt water shores. She said it's ofconcern because wildlife can get tangled up in rope or even ingest small pieces.

"Anything we can do to make sure that that rope is kept in our boats, or kept in our cars and properly disposed ofif it rips or tears, then we can hopefully see a reduction in rope on our shorelines," she said.

'There's definitelyplaces and areas that need some attention'

As a first step in combating shoreline litter, Schoeler recommended just reducing the use of foam and plastic.

For foam and plastic you do use, she said, people should take care to dispose of it properly, and also to watch for deterioration in foam products and replace them when they start to fall apart.

The cleanups were done entirely by volunteers, with seven events in Kings County, four in Charlottetown and one in Rustico.

"There's definitely places and areas that need some attention and the more people that we have out there the more information we can gather and the more that we can pick up together," Schoeler said.

Other unusual items reported on P.E.I. were a SantaClausoutfit, dog collar, $10 bill, tires, toys and a pillow.

An interactive map of Canada and the litter found on shorelines across the country can be explored online.

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