Trashformers
Atlantic Coast Action Program Cape Breton
Founded in 1992, the Atlantic Coastal Action Program Cape Breton (ACAP) is an environmental non-profit organization that offers the knowledge that Cape Bretoners need to make greener choices.
Sea Change Spotlight featuring Trashformers ACAP
Habitat Restoration
For over twenty years, ACAP Cape Breton has worked to restore various freshwater ecosystems over vast kilometres of coastal areas. Some activities involved removing debris in these ecosystems from illegal dumping sites, installing ‘digger logs’, waterway deflectors and planting willow and spruce seedlings around watersheds to prevent further erosion.
Watershed Walks
ACAP hosts yearly watershed walks through six prominent Cape Brenton watersheds in order to educate and display the various wildlife and habitats.
Trash cleanups
Established in 2011, the Trashformers program is a partnership between ACAP Cape Breton & CBRM Solid Waste Department. The Trashformers is a summer volunteer initiative working to keep communities clean. The Trashformers to date have collected over 3,000 bags of trash.
ACAP Ongoing Projects
“80% of our wastewater is untreated, so in most of the areas the sewage lines directly float into the ocean. That means anything that goes down to your toilet ends up on the beaches”
Trashformers stands out from other debris removal organizations by focusing on data and constant monitoring of how the litter differs from year to year through a full litter audit. Doing so allows for them to analyze any progress that is being made regarding waste dumping and what interventions can be implemented against certain categories of litter. The most recent cleanup saw a rise of 500 kilograms more litter recorded than any other year. View Past debris collection charts here.
““This indicates that nothing is actually changing which means we need to implement structural changes in our policies in the way that we are holding larger companies accountable” ”
Lobster Tag Tracking
“Our end goal is not to get everything we collect to solid waste but to make sure it has a full long life before it ends up at solid waste”
Trashformers has zeroed in on compiling data on the location, time, and date of the lobster tags collected during cleanups.
“We would like to acknowledge that we are in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship” which Mi’kmaq Wəlastəkwiyik (Maliseet), and Passamaquoddy Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1726. “
