Ocean Legacy Foundation opens ocean plastic depot in British Columbia

The Ocean Legacy Foundation, a Richmond, British Columbia-based nonprofit organization that develops and implements worldwide plastic pollution response programs, has opened an ocean plastic depot at 7 Mile Landfill & Recycling Centre in Port McNeill in partnership with the Regional District of Mount Waddington (RDMW) in Port McNeill, British Columbia.

This ocean plastic diversion program is made possible through funding from the Ghost Gear Fund by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The depot will accept material from shoreline, ocean and industrial cleanup efforts from the marine sector and the local community, providing essential infrastructure to divert these plastic resources from landfills and reduce ocean pollution.  

“Ocean Legacy is excited to launch this opportunity to reduce the pollution in our coastal communities and protect our precious marine environments,” says Chloé Dubois, executive director of the Ocean Legacy Foundation. “This development continues to enhance our growing capacity to capture plastics, divert them from landfills and repurpose the materials in a way that fuels innovative manufacturing technologies, which support the Canadian plastic circular economy.”   

The 7 Mile Ocean Plastic Depot accepts material like abandoned, lost discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) and marine debris. It also accepts equipment, including netting and rope, polystyrene foam, hard plastic and select buoys. Materials collected at the depot are sent to the Ocean Legacy processing center at Steveston Harbour, British Columbia, where it is further sorted, cleaned and recycled.   

“We are really excited about our partnership with Ocean Legacy and the creation of the ocean plastics depot at 7-Mile Landfill,” RDMW Chair Andrew Hory says. “This program enables the RDMW to build on our collection and recycling efforts by adding ocean plastics to the list. Removing plastic wastes from our oceans and shorelines, then collecting them locally, directly benefits the environmental health of our community.”   

The 7 Mile Ocean Plastics Depot will be the fourth depot of its kind in British Columbia, with others located in other communities in British Columbia like Powell River, Ucluelet and Cumberland and developments underway in Prince Rupert and the Lower Sunshine Coast. The program forms part of Ocean Legacy Foundation’s national strategy in addressing plastic pollution by creating end-of-life solutions for ALDGF and marine plastics while developing the plastic circular economy.  

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