Plastic pollution

Photo by April Benze.

Plastic pollution is choking our waterways and threatening the health of fish and wildlife. We are collecting plastic and microplastic data as part of our community-oriented water pollution monitoring program. We are collaborating on research projects with universities, governments and experts in the field. We are providing advice to local, regional and federal governments on plastic science, policies, and regulations. We are working with Ocean Diagnostics to support a strong science-based foundation for solutions.

Lots of garbage on a beach.
Photo by Simon Ager.
People working together to take samples of water in jars.
Photo by Alex Harris / Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

Our approach

  • Design a source identification toolbox for plastic pollution; 
  • Working with Indigenous and coastal communities to document plastic pollution and track this back to its source;
  • Conduct research on the source, transport and fate of micro and macroplastics in the environment;
  • Engage in outside-the-box dialogue with industry and governments to support more sustainable design, manufacturing and processes that stem the release of plastics during the life cycle of a product;
  • Support community-oriented outreach and training to support solution-oriented actions and capacity building.

Plastics are everywhere

Plastics from just about every sector can now be found all over the world – from mountain tops to the seafloor, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and from our homes to the ocean. A modern-day scourge that is blighting remote beaches and shorelines, getting mistaken for food by wildlife, and getting into the foods that nourish us. Whether it’s the structural features of plastic products that suffocate, entangle, or create intestinal blockages – or the endocrine disrupting-contaminants that serve as ingredients of the product (e.g. Bisphenol A or phthalate esters) or as hitchhikers soaked up by plastics in the environment (e.g. PCBs or metals) – plastics are harmful.

Underwater photo of plastic floating near the top of the water.
Chinook salmon swim in a river as seen from head on; epic.
Photo by Fernando Lessa.

The impact on the environment

Without a dramatic re-think, the plastic crisis is here to stay. Despite the best intentions of governments, industry, and consumers to reduce, recycle or re-use, global plastic production continues to enjoy exponential growth. And the unintentional loss to the environment of plastic products and byproducts will continue – plastic bags, bottles, and fishing gear, as well as the discharge of microplastics through domestic and industrial waste. With that will come a constant stream of items that will be mistaken for food but offer zero nutrition, that will entangle wildlife, and will deliver endocrine disruptors to our aquatic food webs. We will document impacts, share findings, and work for change through science, community engagement, and expert advice.

Recent articles

Reduced genetic diversity: another challenge facing the Southern Resident killer whales?

Reduced genetic diversity: another challenge facing the Southern Resident killer whales?

As charismatic mega-predators, killer whales have no equal. Historically feared, respected, in some cultures revered, we now know them to be intelligent and highly social. They also have  fascinatingly strong ideas about what constitutes food, with different populations having vastly different preferred prey.  Not surprisingly, then, the plight of the critically endangered salmon-eating Southern Resident…
Tal grafting a log with his hands in a forest.

Maxwell Creek Watershed Project Field Files Part 5: Experimental forest restoration methodologies

Together this community of practice has been developing new approaches to manage growing concerns around the degraded condition of BC’s forests.
Coastline with trees growing on it.

Local engagement: letters to elected representatives can help make change

Raincoast scientists have been engaging in work related to conservation action on the Gulf Islands for many years.
A surfer rips at the top of a wave on the central coast of BC with another surfer in the water in the foreground.

Join us for After the Groundswell: film and discussion panel events in Vancouver, Victoria, and Tofino

We invite you to join us in Vancouver, Victoria, or Tofino for a special evening and ‘re-premiere’ of Groundswell, a 25 minute short film with a new prologue.
A school of salmon as seen from below in the Fraser River.

Sign our official petition to tell the federal government to reject Roberts Bank Terminal 2 

This is a legally binding petition. If we surpass 500 signatures, the petition is required to be presented to Steven Guilbeault in the House of Commons.
Two Southern resident killer whales surfacing in the ocean.

Opposed to the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion? You’re not alone

The list of groups opposed to the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion includes several First Nations, a suite of conservation organizations in both Canada and the United States, scientists, Canada’s own federal regulators, local community groups, a church, and a worker’s union.
Black bear going into the ocean for a swim.

Bear tourism instead of bear hunting

Part of the story was featured on From Our Own Correspondence, a BBC podcast. 
Two people working together to collect water samples in a farm field with the mountains in the background.

Job Posting: Water Quality Coordinator

Applications close March 24, 2023.