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- The 15th annual TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup launches nationally this Saturday with a record 60,000-plus volunteers expected. - Canadians who did not preregister for a cleanup and would like to participate can join a local drop-in cleanup site. TORONTO, Sept. 18 /CNW/ - There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but Canadians only have eyes for their local waters as a record-breaking number of volunteers participate in the 15th annual TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. One of the world's largest cleanups, this year's more than 60,000 participants will remove approximately 100,000 kilograms of litter from almost 1,500 sites from September 20 to 28, 2008. "For 15 years, Canadians have proven their commitment and concern for our shorelines and this year we've set a new record with more than 60,000 participants," said Roger St. Louis, Regional Manager, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. "We've kicked off our national cleanup with events right across the country and the types of litter we're finding is alarming. The world's largest fresh water supply is found in Canada and it's important that we make keeping it clean a priority." Together with the Vancouver Aquarium, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation is hosting cleanup events in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax to kick off the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. Here are a few of the unusual litter items recovered already: - Kitchen sink - Electric scooter - Kid's bike - Oil drum "More than 140 marine species have been found entangled in marine debris and at least 160 marine species have ingested plastic and other debris off Canada's coasts," said Angela Griffiths, Director, Conservation and Environmental Affairs, Vancouver Aquarium. "Most of the litter we find is from land-based sources with cigarette butts and plastic bags leading the way. Besides the danger it poses to marine life, garbage on our shorelines negatively impacts our civic pride, tourism and recreation industries. The TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is the perfect opportunity for Canadians to get involved in a hands-on conservation program and really make a difference together." How Canadians Can Help Canadians who haven't registered for a cleanup can join a public drop-in cleanup site in their local community. Visit www.vanaqua.org/cleanup for a list of public drop-in cleanup sites across the country. Canadians are also invited to attend any of the kickoff cleanups being held in the following locations on Saturday, September 20: Vancouver, British Columbia Kitsilano Beach Park Starts at 10:00 a.m. PST Calgary, Alberta St. Patrick's Island Starts at 10:00 a.m. MST Toronto, Ontario Woodbine Beach Park Starts at 10:00 a.m. EST Ottawa, Ontario Mooney's Bay (Saturday, September 20) Starts at 9:00 a.m. EST Ottawa River at Britannia Beach South (Sunday, September 21) Starts at 10:00 a.m. Montreal, Quebec Parc Promenade Bellerive Starts at 11:00 a.m. EST Quebec City, Quebec Parc Duberger Les Saules Starts at 9:00 a.m. EST Halifax, Nova Scotia Point Pleasant Park (Black Rock Beach) Starts at 10:00 a.m. AST About the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup TD Bank Financial Group has been a proud sponsor of the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a Vancouver Aquarium conservation program, through its TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for more than 12 years. The Cleanup began in 1994 as a small beach cleanup with four employees from the Vancouver Aquarium who wanted to participate in the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup. In 2007, a record-breaking 50,000 volunteers participated in the national cleanup and removed 87,489 kilograms of garbage from 1,240 sites spanning a collective distance of 1,772 kilometres. Now in its 15th year, this year's TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup takes place from September 20-28, 2008. /NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca. Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/ For further information: Annette Robertson, MAVERICK Public Relations, (416) 640-5525 ext. 231, annetter@maverickpr.com; Jacqueline Burns, TD Bank Financial Group, (416) 308-0177, jacqueline.burns@td.com; Jean Fong, Vancouver Aquarium, (604) 659-3561, jean.fong@vanaqua.org

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