Trash Trapping Program scores big in ridding Toronto Harbour of plastic waste in 2024
Canadian Plastics
Research & Development SustainabilityBetween May and October 2024, a network of trash traps in the Toronto Harbour diverted more than 600 kg of debris from Lake Ontario.
PortsToronto staff empty a WasteShark aquadrone of floating debris captured during the 2024 season of the Trash Trapping Program. Photo Credit: CNW Group/PortsToronto
The results are in – between May and October 2024, a network of trash traps in the Toronto Harbour diverted more than 600 kilograms (kg) of man-made plastic debris from the waters of Lake Ontario, including items such as plastic pellets, pieces of foam from food containers and construction activities, plastic bottle caps, cigarette butts, and more than 100,000 small pieces of plastic.
The so-called “Trash Trapping Program,” led by PortsToronto and the University of Toronto Trash Team (U of T Trash Team) since 2019, uses various methods and technologies such as WasteSharks, Seabins, LittaTraps, and manual skimming to capture and remove plastic pollution from Lake Ontario.
WasteShark Aquadrones can remove up to 180 litres of marine litter per trip; in 2024, they collected 163 large pieces of debris (5.9 kg total) during 12 trips. Seabins trap floating debris in a catch bag that’s emptied daily. And LittaTraps were placed in storm drains near Queens Quay to prevent debris from reaching the harbour; they mainly captured cigarette butts, paper, and litter that could eventually break down into microplastics.
Materials collected are counted and characterized by U of T Trash Team researchers, informing solutions-based research and helping to combat plastic pollution in waterways.
From the various waste collected from the harbour in 2024, the top 10 large items included foam, cigarette butts, tobacco products, plastic bottle caps, large plastic fragments, food wrappers, large plastic film, straws and stirrers, plastic bags, and plastic beverage bottles. The top small items included plastic fragments, foam, pellets, film, other
The Trash Trapping Program operates between May and October each year. In May 2025, PortsToronto will work to install existing trash traps at locations on the Toronto Waterfront and at the Outer Harbour Marina, and the U of T Trash Team will be onboarding and training the 2025 research team.