Volunteers clean up after Vancouver beaches left littered with trash

Dozens of volunteers cleaned up severalVancouver beaches Sunday morning after they were left littered with cans, bottles and garbage overnight.

Beachesin Vancouver's Kitsilanoneighbourhood and atEnglish Bay, which are typically kept cleaneven during peak season, were both left with unusual amounts of trash on the hottestweekend of summer weather thusfar.

Locals who volunteered to clean up the messsaid they were upset about all the trash.

"I'm really disappointed to see it to be honest," said Kassandra Sisonas she picked up litter at English Bay."We're probably going to get at least half a dozen [garbage bags] if not a full dozen if we keep going."

Sisonwas at the beach with the Coastal Water Protectors,a group of volunteers from the B.C. Mtis Federation, whichhad been planning to do a beach cleanup on Sunday.

'Found quite a bit'

She said the group called the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreationto offer to partner with itfor the cleanup but was told it wasn't necessary.

"They said 'oh no we've got a crew out there every day, you can come andtry but you won't find anything' and we found quite a bit."

In an emailed statement to CBC News, the Park Board thanked volunteers who came out to cleanup.

"Though crews were scheduled in anticipation of larger numbers of visitors this weekend, they were taken aback by the incredible amount of trash left on the city's beaches the equivalent to what was left behind after the festival of lights event, which is highly unusual," read the statement.

Abandoned BBQ

Across from English Bay beach, Kitsilano beach and its surrounding parks were in a similar state, according to local residents.

Photos submitted to CBC News showed unused garbage bins surrounded by trash and evena full-sized grill left standing on the grass surrounded by garbage.

Cans, plastic cups, bottles and empty cases of beer were among the litter.

In May, the park board launched a pilot allowing liquor consumption in more than 20 Vancouver parks for summer 2022, including Kitsilano Beach Park and Hadden Park near the beach. However, drinking is not permitted on the sand or near the water.

According to the park boardwebsite, staff are workingwith the Vancouver Police Department and the regional health authority "to ensure each site is safe, properly managed, and well-maintained."

After the summer, parks staff will present recommendations to the board for how to proceed with liquor consumption in parks based on what they learned from the pilot.