The results are in: First MNP Community Service Day yields 1,979 kg of trash from 19 km of Vancouver Island shorelines

VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC, Sept. 26, 2013 /CNW/ - On September 23^rd, more than 80 employees from MNP LLP, a national accounting and business consulting firm, donated an entire work day to clean up five different shoreline sites across the Island as part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. A joint conservation initiative of the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF, the Shoreline Cleanup aims to remove shoreline litter to help create healthy waters for everyone, including the wildlife and communities that depend on them.

MNP's community service day cleanup included shorelines in the Comox Valley, Nanoose Bay, Nanaimo, Ladysmith and Mill Bay. In total, they collected 11,019 pieces of litter, including 5,700 cigarette butts. That works out to 300 cigarette butts per km of shoreline. See the chart below for other highlights.

"While collecting garbage, such as cigarettes, plastic bags or food wrappers may not appear glamorous, getting out into the community and helping to clean it up was actually a lot of fun," says Peter van Dongen, Regional Marketing Manager for MNP. "We collected two full truckloads at our location and it felt great to know we had made such a difference."

Community	Location	Approx Distance Covered	Weight of Garbage Collected	Most Unusual Items	Local Media Contact
Comox Valley	Courtenay River/Comox Harbour at Dyke Road Park	2-3 km	140 kg (309 lb)	Wooden Ladder	Alana Pearson [phone]
Nanoose Bay	Nanoose Bay Harbour shoreline	5 km	370 kg (816 lb)	Antique Hiram Walker Amber liquor Bottle	Peter van Dongen [phone]
Nanaimo	Westwood Lake beach and trails	6 km	252 kg (395 lb)	Shopping cart	Traci Pogson [phone]
Ladysmith	Transfer Beach Park	2-3 km	499 kg (1,101 lb)	Marine locator	Janna Olynyk [phone]
Mill Bay	Mill Bay Rd from Verdier Point to Northern edge of Bamberton	2-3 km	790 kg (1,742 lb)	Burned out homeless shelter with metal frames for couches and beds	Shelley Graham [phone]

About MNP
MNP is one of the largest national accounting and business consulting firms in Canada, providing client-focused accounting, taxation and consulting advice. National in scope and local in focus, MNP has proudly served individuals and public and private companies for more than 65 years. Through the development of strong relationships, MNP provides organizations with personalized strategies and a local perspective to help them succeed. On Vancouver Island, MNP employs more than 120 local owners and team members at four offices in Duncan, Nanaimo, Courtenay and Campbell River. www.MNP.ca.

About the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited, is one of the largest direct action conservation programs in Canada. A conservation initiative of the Vancouver Aquarium and WWF, the Shoreline Cleanup aims to promote understanding of shoreline litter issues by engaging Canadians to rehabilitate shoreline areas through cleanups. www.ShorelineCleanup.ca

 

SOURCE: MNP LLP

or to arrange an interview, please contact: 
Peter van Dongen, Regional Marketing Manager - Vancouver Island, MNP LLP
[phone] or cell [phone] or email [email protected]

Julie Bannerjea, Director Media and External Communications, MNP LLP
[phone] or cell [phone] or email [email protected]