"PERNICIOUS AND PLENTIFUL: PLASTIC ON SAM SMITH'S SHORES" - Donna-Marie Batty

Let me begin by plainly stating a truth:  the beaches in Sam Smith Park are in an awful state!  Bits of debris cover just about every square foot of beach and most of this debris is, unfortunately, plastic.  Plastic’s been in the news quite a bit lately.  Scientists are saying that plastic particles outnumber plankton 36 to 1, that millions of marine animals die each year because they’ve ingested plastic and,   because plastic doesn’t decompose , the problem is not going to go away.  This news is all the more alarming when we consider that the problem is said to be even greater in the Great Lakes.

Take a walk along the eastern beaches of Sam Smith and you’ll find every type of plastic imaginable;  spoons, forks, knives, bottle caps, pop and water bottles, toothbrushes, cigarette holders, bags, take-out cups, straws, coffee lids, pails,  lighters, chunks of styrofoam, and on and on .  You can’t pick up most of this type of garbage because it has broken into little bits just the right size for a turtle, a fish, or a bird to mistake for food.  

So.  What are we going to do?  Since it’s unlikely that this sorry state of affairs will change without citizen involvement, some of us thought we had better come up with a plan and we formed a group called StopPlastics.  Our mission is to stop plastics at its source.  That’s our long-term goal.  Our immediate goal is to get the City of Toronto to implement a ban on plastic bags as hundreds of countries, states and cities around the world have done.

StopPlastics is asking for your help.  We are asking that you contact your councillor and say that you want a ban on single-use plastic bags.   If you feel you need a bit of help with that you can visit our web page at StopPlastics.ca to obtain a template letter  and background information.  Please let us know once you’ve sent your letter by sending an email to us at contact@stopplastics.ca so we can track responses.

The Committee at StopPlastics thanks you!

PS  We’d be thrilled if you could join us at our regularly scheduled planning meetings.  You can reach us at contact@stopplastics.ca  

 Check us out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stopplastics/

The STOPPLASTICS group will be at Sam Smith's Spring Bird Festival on May 28th. and also at the City's cleanup on April 23rd. from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 where they will concentrate on the plastic litter on Sam Smith's eastern beaches.
More information can be found here.