Visualizing the fight against trash in Toronto Harbour

In 2022, the U of T Trash Team and PortsToronto captured over 92,000 pieces of plastic pollution.

An image of a trash-trapping device attached to a dock in the Toronto Harbour — One of the Seabins used to pull trash from Toronto Harbour. (Photo courtesy of PortsToronto)

At one time or another, many Torontonians have participated in a beach cleanup, picking up litter along a shoreline to ensure it ends up in the proper place. But what happens when trash makes it into the water? That litter is no less potentially harmful to the environment — it’s just a lot harder to pick up.

That’s where groups like the U of T Trash Team and their Trash Trapping program come in.

Since 2019, the University of Toronto–based community outreach organization — in conjunction with PortsToronto — has removed hundreds of thousands of pieces of plastic debris from the Toronto Harbour, and they just had their most successful year yet.

In the spring and summer of 2022, the Trash Team placed 10 trash-trapping devices called Seabins in the lake — six on the waterfront, and four on the outer harbour marina.

According to recently released data, they collected over 18 kg (40 lb.) of trash — including over 92,000 small pieces of plastic pollution smaller than five mm — over the course of four months.

Check out the map accompanying this story for a view of the Seabins and a breakdown of what was pulled from each one, then read on for more info.

Litter on the water

When trash is pulled from the Seabins, project research assistants log and collect every item. This gives them a better sense of what’s ending up in the harbour, and devise mitigating strategies that can be applied in Toronto and beyond.

The list of large items collected in 2022 includes:

Large item	Amount
Large Film	1,804
Large Fragment	1,492
Large Foam	618
Cigarette Butts	599
Food Wrapper	540
Paper	331
Plastic Bottle Cap	272
Cigar Tip	182
Plastic Straw	107
Fatberg	105

Wait, “fatberg”?

You read that right.

According to the Trash Team, fatbergs are “rock-like masses formed by the combination of fat, grease, and wastewater materials, including wet wipes and diapers.”

With 105 collected over four months, fatbergs showed up on a nearly daily basis during the team’s research season, though they were typically found following storm events with heavy rainfall.

We've heard about them before but last summer we got to see a #fatberg up close and personal! Among our #Seabin top 10 items, these rock-like masses form in the sewer when items that shouldn't be flushed end up combining with oil and grease. Yuck! Remember, only flush the 3 Ps. pic.twitter.com/eD2WYp6bdP
— U of T Trash Team 🦝 (@UofTTrashTeam) February 8, 2023

What about small items?

The Trash Team collected 92,891 small bits of plastic pollution, including many hard fragments broken off from larger plastic items. The list of most-common items includes:

Small item	Amount
Foam	44,288
Fragment	25,600
Film	10,115
Pellet	4,894
Other	4,416

Over 51 days of deployment, the Rees Seabin — located by the WaveDeck at Rees St. and Queens Quay — collected the most trash by number of items (13,913) and weight (2.29 kg).

Interestingly, however, the Marina Quay East Seabin by the Toronto Music Garden and Spadina Quay wetlands collected the most small pieces of plastic pollution per day (287 pieces/day).

Microplastics are a focus for the Trash Team for multiple reasons, including harm to wildlife and contamination of drinking water. According to program co-founder and U of T associate professor Chelsea Rochman, the Trash Team has even found micro-plastics in the filet of a fish.

”So some people are eating microplastic,” Rochman told CTV last year.

After almost four months, another successful Seabin season with @UofTTrashTeam is complete!

We are looking forward to this season’s data. Stay tuned!#FightingFloatables #TrappingTrash #Seabin pic.twitter.com/jqAQK3wQyM
— PortsToronto (@PortsToronto) September 21, 2022

So where’s all this trash coming from?

The trash comes from a variety of sources, including overflowing or windblown trash bins at the water’s edge, storm water runoff, and industry.

That means it can come from a wide area, and still collect in the harbour. Or, as another Trash Team initiative proved, some of it can even escape the harbour and make it out into Lake Ontario, where it follows the current to parts unknown.

And the only way to get it out is through groups like the Trash Team, and devices like Seabins.

According to Rochman, the 2023 Trash Trapping program begins in May or June and will run through August. All 10 Seabins will be in action once again.

Sea Bin icon by Icons8

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