MMSB Names Friends of Beaches Waste Reduction Hero

The province's Multi Materials Stewardship Board (MMSB) named MI Ocean Net's Friends of Beaches Network as its September Waste Reduction Hero

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Across the province, groups of individuals are seeing a need and taking action to clean up sensitive coastal areas in their own communities.

The Friends of Beaches Network, led by Justin Dearing of MI Ocean Net, is making this possible. Made up of a province-wide network of youth and community members, Friends of Beaches work to clean up indiscriminate dumping, marine debris, and litter on beaches and shorelines in communities throughout the province. In addition to shoreline cleanups, Friends of Beaches volunteers take part in special events that help promote the importance of protecting the sensitive marine ecosystems that coastal communities in Newfoundland and Labrador depend on.

The Friends of Beaches Network has been active since 2004 and they use an online, interactive map to log their efforts and allow others to get information on clean-ups.

Inspiring others to pick up a garbage bag and get involved, here's what the Friends of Beaches Network have been able to achieve:

• 10,045 youth and public engaged province-wide
• 733 beach and shoreline clean-ups in 155 communities
• 11,123 bags of debris collected, weighing approximately 222,691 pounds

With results like these, it's no doubt that this group of motivated individuals really is a friend of beaches and a friend of the earth too.

Check out the Friends of Beaches' Waste Reduction Hero Ad and TV commercial!