Cape Spear is a treasure. The ocean is beautiful and I hope to see whales off the coast there next summer.
I am new, sort of, to Newfoundland. I have been here since September. I visited Cape Spear first in October. At the time, the land was absolutely littered with garbage — many, many rain-soaked diapers, chip bags, pop bottles, plastic bags, etc. And a green garbage bag (or two). I thought this was strange — I’m sure most people aren’t chucking used diapers on the land? Due to the wind, the diapers would likely have ended up in the ocean at some point — a meal in waiting for the whales when they return. Yum!
Please, this is an easy fix that will prevent more garbage from going into the ocean.
I retrieved the green garbage bag floating around and proceeded to fill it with the other garbage. I filled the garbage bag and then went to the garbage bin — a beat up old aluminum thing with the lid off and the current garbage bag just hanging on by sheer good luck. It became clear what was going on. The garbage I retrieved likely came from an overturned garbage bin.
I went to Cape Spear again today. I have included photos of the garbage bins. The first one contained a garbage bag which was just about to take flight and, inevitably, end up in the ocean. Another tidbit for a whale! I also saw a bin on its side, and a green garbage bag that must have previously taken flight and become mired in the frozen land.
Please, this is an easy fix that will prevent more garbage from going into the ocean. We all know that people visit the area and leave garbage behind. We all know that whales visit this area. And, we all know that whales, sadly, end up consuming ocean garbage in their path. Can Parks Canada not have better garbage containment in place?
Will you please replace the old garbage bins with something more substantial that does not succumb to the wind and actually contains the garbage that is placed in them? I know Parks Canada can do better and I know that Cape Spear and the ocean deserve better.
Thank you for considering my email and I hope to hear from you soon about a better way to contain garbage at Cape Spear.
Melissa McDonald
Torbay
