Pollution & Plastics

Our ocean is home to countless marine species under threat from plastic pollution, underwater noise and chemicals. But it’s not just the whales and salmon that pay the price — humans are at risk, too.

11M

Tons of plastic ends up in our ocean annually

9%

Amount of single-use plastic annually recycled in Canada

30

Years of Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanups

Our Programs

Shoreline Cleanup

The Ocean Wise Shoreline Cleanup is a conservation program that provides volunteers with the opportunity to take action in their communities wherever water meets land — one piece of litter at a time.

Plastics Lab

Microplastics are plastic particles that are less than five millimetres in size and they wreak havoc in the global ocean. The Ocean Wise Plastics Lab is a world leader in cutting-edge technical insight into microplastics in ocean environments.

Plastic Reduction

Every business, person, and municipality can meaningfully reduce their single-use plastics, directly addressing pervasive ocean plastics. Small changes add up to a big difference.

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Pollution Tracker

A monitoring program for coastal British Columbia, Canada, Pollution Tracker documents the levels and trends of hundreds of contaminants of concern in mussels and nearshore ocean sediments.

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