Hundreds of people lined the shores of the Fraser River for the 12th annual Fraser River Cleanup on Saturday.
The event was hugely successful with a total of 700 volunteers who picked up several tonnes of garbage from many locations along the shores of the mighty Fraser. This year’s cleanup saw 50 more volunteers than last year’s.
One of the most unusual items they found was a sawed off shotgun, which is now in the hands of the RCMP.
Other trash picked up included tires, carpet, concrete, bottles and cans, and thousands upon thousands of nails from burnt wood pallets.
“In many cases this will prevent the garbage and plastics from being washed down river to the ocean with the coming freshet,” said Chris Gadsden, one of the volunteer organizers.
Over the past 11 years, more than 125 tonnes of trash has been removed from the banks of the Fraser thanks to the annual cleanup.
The next river cleanup — for the Vedder River — takes place next month. The Chilliwack/Vedder River Cleanup Society’s spring cleanup is set for Saturday, April 13 at the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve at 8:30 a.m. For more info, go to cleanrivers.ca.
READ MORE: Fraser River Cleanup hits the hotspots around Chilliwack
Note: An earlier version of this story stated an incorrect amount of garbage that was removed from the shores of the river on Saturday. Fraser River Cleanup has collected more than 125 tonnes of garbage over its 11 years.
