By Heather Killen

The Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com



The pristine coastlines of Canada’s Ocean Playground don’t happen by themselves anymore.

Visitors to Hampton Beach still experience the rare pleasure of an untouched Nova Scotia coastline, but it takes a lot of hands to keep it that way.

Nearly every day, more than half a dozen volunteers each spend about an hour picking up the debris that is carried to shore by the tides and visitors.

“We just thought people should know that it doesn’t just look like this,” said Jo Hacking. “It takes a lot of people working to keep it clean.”

Hacking and fellow volunteers Jurgen Kandziora, Andrew Pouter, Mona Goudreault, Doreen Connell, John James, Kerstine Atkins, Jo Hacking, Gale Connell, and Jenny Bale also comb the shoreline after major winter storms.

“Between December and March approximately five half-ton truckloads of plastic, rope, buckets and crates are cleared from the beaches,” added Hacking. ”When the spring and fall clean-ups roll around, we are out there again.”

Over the past four years they have found used needles, condoms, and old sofas on the beach. They’ve also picked up more than their fair share of buckets, plastic bottles, televisions, broken glass, lobster tags, bait ties, car parts, and curly ribbon.

And they’ve seen plenty of doggie-do, too.

“We really appreciate it when you pick up after your dogs, and your barbeques,” Hacking said. “And put the garbage in the bags that are left by the walkway.”

One winter, the group picked up about 17 tons of garbage. Based on what they’ve seen and picked up from this small peace of heaven, these volunteers worry about the big picture.

“After two tides I’ve picked up two full garbage bags, or about 15 pounds of rope and plastic,” said Andrew Pouter.

Just because a bottle is tossed out of sight, it doesn’t mean it can just be forgotten. Mother’s old saying about how we are what we eat, may soon become ‘We are, what we throw away,’ according to Pouter.

“Plastic just doesn’t disappear, it takes about four or five hundred years for it to degrade,” he said. “It’s not inert, it will eventually break down and the chemicals will find their way into the food supply.”