U of T Trash Team 🦝

Our science-based community outreach organization works to reduce #PlasticPollution through 3 main programs areas: community outreach, education and solutions-based research! Here's a glimpse of our impact as we work locally to build capacity & #BeatPlasticPollution globally.🦝

Experiencing the post cleanup blues? 🦝 Relive the Urban Litter Challenge through site lead Lilianna’s latest blog on community action and how every piece counts! 🌱 Read the blog to learn more: uofttrashteam.ca/ulc2026/

👋 Meet Mina, our Communications and Outreach Work Study! Mina is working on our social media to share upcoming events and increase waste literacy through science communication!

🌟 Meet our newest cohort of Waste Literacy Instructors! Our instructors are ready to increase waste literacy and inspire the next generation about preventing plastic pollution with 70+ school visits booked until April. ♻️ @tdsb

Is raising awareness enough to tackle plastic pollution? In our latest blog, Volunteer Engagement and Community Programs Lead, Susan Debreceni, explores how community-based social marketing can help turn awareness into action. Read the blog: uofttrashteam.ca/behaviourch…

📣 This just in, results from the 2026 #UrbanLitterChallenge! We removed 22,714 litter items across 12 locations. This included 2,929 small pieces of plastic and according to the @OurOcean Wildlife Impact Calculator, is equivalent to protecting 97 seabirds! #EveryPieceCounts

Our Ambassador Training is now complete! We welcomed our new cohort of our amazing volunteers to learn more about plastic pollution, and the role our Ambassadors play in sharing our work with the community. We can’t wait to see them in action! #WasteLiteracy

🐟 The #AdventuresofSalmon at Morningside Park was a fantastic time! Huge thanks to @trca_hq for hosting us! We spoke to nearly 200 community members, sharing how #PlasticPollution impacts watersheds while discussing our suite of waste literacy programming.

🗑️ Another successful #UrbanLitterChallenge! We cleaned 12 locations and removed nearly 23,000 items of litter, contributing valuable information on how they travel throughout our watershed. Can you guess the top item? #SeaTheChange @UofTArtSci @OceanWise @TOPortAuthority

Join us the wknd of Sept 26/27 for our annual #UrbanLitterChallenge and prevent litter in our watershed from entering #LakeOntario - every piece counts! Find a location near you: uofttrashteam.ca/event/ulc20… @TOPortAuthority @OurOcean @oceanwise @uoftartsci @UofTCities #SeaTheChange

It's our last #TrashTrappingTuesday of the year! We removed 26 kg of anthropogenic debris (about 4 pinatas full of candy & their wrappers!). This included 3,774 large and 470 small items of #PlasticPollution including cigarette butts, food wappers, bottle caps and foam. Go team!

🤯Nearly 4,000 large and 150 small items of #PlasticPollution were removed by our #FightingFloatablesTO team in a week! At 38 kg, this is about 4 and a 1/4 watermelons by weight. The top large items continue to include misc plastic waste, plastic bottle caps and food wrappers.

We removed 33 kg of anthropogenic debris from Lake Ontario, including 365 small & 2,731 large items of #PlasticPollution. The top large items continued to include an assortment of misc plastic waste, bottle caps, food wrappers, foam and cigarette butts. #FightingFloatablesTO

Four Canada Geese worth of litter by weight! Our #FightingFloatablesTO team removed 24 kg of anthropogenic debris, including 2,847 small and 3,430 large items of plastic pollution, with miscellaneous plastic waste, food wrappers and bottle caps among the top finds.

🦝 We loved welcoming students from the @FutureUofT Enrichment Academy to learn about #PlasticPollution. After a lab tour, students joined our #FightingFloatablesTO team and sorted litter collected by WasteShark! Top items included plastic bottle caps, food wrappers and foam!

🌊Our weekly check-in from Toronto's waterfront! Our #FightingFloatablesTO team removed 38 kg of anthropogenic debris (about 28 rainbow trout!🐟) and counted 305 small and 3,583 large items of plastic pollution. We even rescued a baseball cap with a cool moose design! 🫎

🥾Missing a boot? We might have found it! Our #FightingFloatablesTO team recently removed 26 kg of litter (nearly the weight of 20 mallards 🦆)! This included 419 small and 5,783 large items of #PlasticPollution, with a lone winter boot standing out as this week's unusual find.

🌊Thanks to everyone who joined our Trash Trap Dive! Together, we removed 5 kg of anthropogenic debris and sorted and categorized 581 pieces of #PlasticPollution, including a lot of plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, and foam pieces. Well done everyone!! 🦝 #FightingFloatablesTO