The shores of Erieau got some TLC during an Earth Day cleanup on Monday morning.
Staff members and supporters with United Way Chatham-Kent headed to the beach as part of Pitch-In Canada Week to coincide with Earth Day. Once they arrived in the community, they were greeted by several Erieau residents who were also spending the morning picking up litter.
Jaclyn Gillier, marketing and communications coordinator with United Way Of Chatham-Kent, said the group of volunteers and area residents was able to pick up lots of pieces of garbage as well as twigs and brush. Besides the typical items found in a cleanup, Gillier said they also cleared away several unique items.
Photo via United Way CK Twitter
"Some of the larger items that we found; probably during the winter, somebody's dock had broken off and we found a full set of wooden stairs washed up on the shore," she said.
Gillier said between the United Way volunteers and the residents of Erieau, around 20 bags of garbage were collected.
"When you looked in the washup with the seaweed and the sticks, that's where you would see all the bottlecaps and different things that were left behind from beachgoers," she explained. "It was a little bit shocking to see how much there was in our area. The community in Erieau do a really good job at cleaning up their area but just seeing the little bits of plastic... you think how many birds and fish might be able to swallow the small pieces?"
After seeing firsthand all the garbage that's accumulated over time on the shore, Gillier said she's hoping that people not only stop littering but also consider limiting their single-use plastic consumption.
"Thinking about what the products are made out of and how they're being packaged," she said. "Because whether it's being recycled, thrown out or littered, it all makes a big difference and makes an impact in our community whether they realize it or not."