We are thrilled to welcome the newest development in marine debris infrastructure! The Ocean Plastic Depot will provide west coasters with a way to divert their beach clean finds from landfill, as well as support aquaculture, fishing, and marine services industries to responsibly recycle old gear.

The Depot is a huge leap forward, building upon the existing partnerships between The Ocean Legacy Foundation, Surfrider Pacific Rim, and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD). Thanks to Ocean Legacy’s innovative recycling techniques, Surfrider has been able to recycle ~80% of marine debris removed from shorelines since 2017. In 2019 our regional district, the ACRD, partnered with Ocean Legacy to create end of life solutions for equipment from local aquaculture businesses. Since that time, over 120 tonnes of rope and netting has been diverted from the West Coast Landfill!

“This development will provide critical infrastructure to capture plastic resources, divert them from landfill and responsibly recycle selected items to not only support innovative technologies but further implement pragmatic solutions to grow the Canadian plastic circular economy.”

- Chloé Dubois, President, Ocean Legacy Foundation

Volunteer beach-cleaners should not have to pay to recycle the debris they collect, so we created the Surfrider depot membership system! By signing up as a member, you may use the depot free of charge to recycle materials found on beach cleans. However, until we implement upstream solutions to plastic pollution, communities will continue to bear the burden of dealing with marine debris; therefore, we require all depot members to log beach clean data as evidence we can use to advocate for legislation and policy change.

For more info on becoming a member, download the Member Info Pack, then Apply for a membership here.

This infrastructure and ocean plastic diversion program is made possible through a partnership with the Ocean Legacy Foundation, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, support from Surfrider Pacific Rim and Berry & Vale Contracting Ltd. with funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

For more information, email ahoyland@pacificrim.surfrider.org