Kahnawake volunteers clean up St. Lawrence shores

Kahnawake residents of all ages spent Saturday on the St. Lawrence shores in an all-hands cleanup effort.

Teams of volunteers pulled trash from the water and combed through the land to pick up waste left behind and strewn ashore.

"It's kind of fun," said MJ De Carufel, a volunteer diver surveying the waters for trash, "and it's for nature, so it's a win-win situation."

"It's just a great community-led effort to get everyone out and coming to clean up and take care of our environment," said Cole Delisle, a coordinator with the Kahnawake Environmental Protection Office (KEPO). 

It's KEPO's second annual clean-up. 

"Beer bottles and garbage, how can you drive by every day and not say to yourself 'I've got to stop and clean it up'," said Michael Delisle, who lives nearby, and volunteered with his family.

After the trash is collected, it's disposed of responsibly, after being separated from anything that can be recycled. 

"We find a lot of soda or beer cans and aluminum is one of those materials that is so easily recyclable," said Sandrine Tessier, spokesperson for GRAME, a company invovled in environmental efforts and education.

'It's to show the care for nature, for the community, making the place more enjoyable for other people in the community, and for their children," she said.

Other reusable items, like abandoned bicycles, are cleaned and donated.